Other Hands Issue #29 and 30 Supplement

Realm of Bellakar THE REALM OF BELLAKAR

Other Hands Eric Dubourg: 7 Domaine du Château, 91380 Chilly Mazarin, NÚMENÓREAN COLONIZATION France ([email protected]) (SA 1-2029) Wesley J. Frank: 949 N Humphrey Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302- 1417, USA ([email protected]) As the Second Age drew on, other Men, hunters and herdsmen Chris Seeman: PO Box 1213, Novato, CA 94948-1213, USA from the mountains east of the great desert, established them- ([email protected]) selves along the coasts. Some taught themselves to sail the ocean in small but sturdy boats. They drew fish, squid and seal from the South of Gondor and Mordor lies the vast desert of Harad- waters. Others found patches of good land for farm and orchard; waith. Much of its western expanse lies under the dominion of they sustained themselves on wheat, olives, dates and grapes. Bellakar, a warlike kingdom of coasts and hills, lying between the The people who took their livelihood from the sea could also sail deepest of seas and the most barren of wastelands. Together with to other harbors. They began to trade amongst themselves, learn- the neighboring land of Raj (Bozisha-Miraz) to its southeast, ing the languages of other tribes. Scattered along hundreds of Gondorian maps label Bellakar “Far Harad” (as distinct from Ha- leagues of coastline, these people named themselves the Bel- ruzan or “Near Harad”). Bellakar boasts a mix of different cul- lanarod (sing. Bellanar). When Númenórean mariners first set tures: Númenórean, native Bellakaze, Aukuag tribesmen of the foot on the shores of Bellakar around 1100, they found a strong, desert, Bozishnarod from Raj, and a tribal people from the East village-dwelling people where the desert meets the sea. called the Tedjin. In such a varied realm, conflict seethes eter- Of their distant past the Bellanarod spoke little to the nally. Númenóreans, but in time the loremasters of the Dúnedain pieced together native myths and legends enough to recognize that the THE ELDER DAYS Bellanarod must have enjoyed some contact with the “Azunan,” the Elvish peoples, a gift they had thought peculiar to their race. According to ancient Southron legends, the land of Bellakar The name Bellakar itself appeared to have been derived from an was once verdant and lush. Vast forests covered its coastal re- Avarin equivalent to Belegaer, the Grey-elven name for the sea. gions, the most favored of them centered upon a mighty lake set Perhaps Felayja too, the Bellanara name for the coasts, originated amid the green hills. Further inland, forested highlands rose above from some Dark Elven form of Falas. But whatever connections endless expanses of grassy savanna and reed marsh. might once have existed between the fisher-folk and the Azunan The Cuind, a tribe of Dark Elves, were the first of the Free Peo- had long since fallen into oblivion, and eager Númenórean quests ples to wander the land, before the first rising of the sun, sharing to locate lost Elven tribes in the land met with no success. its starlit trails with Maiarin spirits, wild Hawnin Elves of Nan- The fisher-folk of the Bellanarod stood in awe of the dorin race, and a few clans of restless Dwarves. The Cuind Númenóreans, whose ships towered over them like the houses of founded the earliest settlements in Bellakar, dwelling in caves the gods. They allowed the Númenóreans to settle around their about the wooded shores of the great lake and in sheltered vales harbors and bays, learning from them and teaching them, in turn, scattered through the land. The most famous of these havens the wisdom of life on a desert coast. The clans who allowed the would later mark the legendary oasis of Khibil Êphalak. The Age of the Sun brought the awakening of Men into the newcomers to live among them acquired their lore and sometimes world. The mysterious Honnin (relatives of the Drughu) were the even mixed bloodlines with them. oldest race of the Secondborn to wander Bellakar extensively. Lit- As cities grew up around the Númenórean colonies, a perma- tle attracted to contact with other peoples, their only desire was nent social and political order came into being, identifiable as that for solitude and the carving of their watch-stones, a craft in which of the Bellakaranî, the people of Bellakar, distinct from other na- they excelled. Bellakar knew peace, as wild places knew it, until tions and tribes of Harad. In each Bellakarian city-state, a council the powers of the world fought a terrible war in distant Beleriand, of powerful elders decided matters of law and justice. In some cit- and all the lands were ruined or changed. ies these ruling oligarchies consisted entirely of the "Adûnâi," The drowning of Beleriand in the War of Wrath had lesser, wealthy citizens of traceable and purely Dúnadan descent. Among though still cataclysmic, repercussions throughout Middle-earth, themselves they spoke only the traditional tongues of Númenor: one of which was the desiccation of Haradwaith. Within a few Adûnaic and Sindarin (and later only Adûnaic). In other cities, centuries, the vast forests of Bellakar had given way to desert. A the “mixed-blooded” class, known as the Bellakaze, held some few sizable oases remained, vestiges of the Elder Days, but only share of wealth and power. They spoke a language as mixed as along the coasts did woodlands linger. To these forests the Hon- their heritage (also called “Bellakaze”) that became the speech of nin removed. The other ancient dwellers of the land, spirits and trade and lore all through Bellakar, even penetrating into the re- Elves and Dwarves, hid themselves in secret places or fled far mote villages and desert trading stations where they treated with away. It is not uncommon in the desert or even in an oasis to find the wandering nomads of the Haradwaith. watch-stones and rock paintings—evidence of one-time Honnin The rising power of the Bellakaze came in spite of the refusal of occupation. Some tales tell that guardian spirits linger in these most of the Adûnâi to recognize any of the “Lesser Men” of Mid- places, ready to punish trespassers. dle-earth as their equals in judgment and character. It also came The Cuind left their refuges in Khibil Êphalak and around the at the expense of the Bellanarod, the purely Southron people who blessed lake in the once green hills at the beginning of the Second still made up the majority of the population of the cities and an Age, separating into two groups. The smaller refused to aban- even higher proportion of the village peasantry subject to those doned their homeland, moved to hidden oases in the Auz Azunan, cities. To be a Bellanar was to learn humility, to be limited in what the “Hills of the Spiritual People,” and to a secret refuge in the one could achieve in the way of wealth and social position. When Urîd an-Abâr, where they established flet-villages. The larger the cities were well-ruled and at peace, this divided way of life group fled Bellakar for greener lands, and, under their leader served the Bellakaranî well enough. Leaders could talk of the Elor, migrated across the southwesternmost peninsula of Endor, “three strong hands, held together” to support the nation. When settling in the forest of Drel. Like the Honnin, those few Cuind war, religion or politics caused pain and conflict, the three hands and Hawnin who remained in Bellakar had very few relations would become claws to tear at one another’s flesh. with the later inhabitants of that land. In the 12th and 13th centuries of the Second Age, the

2 Realm of Bellakar tain of the Venturers and cousin to Tar- Súrion the king, took haven at the mouth of a river which they named Rothló. The place of Ciryandur’s landing became the site for the first permanent Dúnadan colony in Bellakar: Hazaj Tol- lin (a name of Bel- lakaze origin). A second significant foundation appeared in 1487 at the inland oasis of Ithillond, as an outpost of Hazaj Tollin, then seeking to exercise control over the emerging caravan trade westward into Bellazen and the Fe- layja. Other important coastal settlements were established by the Guild of Venturers in 1644 at Ost Dora- nor and in 1780 at Thorombar, both becoming important cities with the passage of years. The Númenóreans were not the only colo- nizers staking claims on the coasts of Bel- lakar. The Bozish- narod of Raj, began a long tradition of challenging the commercial supremacy of Númenor on the Bay of Tulwang with the foundation of the lucrative entrepôt of Na- jmol. To close this uncertain frontier on the eastern flank of their growing colonies, the Númenórean Guild of Venturers began crossing the sea directly Dúnedain laid the foundation of Korlea in 1975, uprooting local from their ports in Númenor. Taking the great Cape of Mardruak tribes and supplanting Bozishnara influence. as their landfall and using Bellakarian ports, they explored the In 2022, under Tar-Ciryatan of Númenor, this patchwork of whole of Bellakar, including its arid lands. In the following centu- settlements achieved coherence through the institution of the ries, slowly, over many lives of Men, Númenóreans came to colo- Council of Free Cities, a loose federation governed by an elected nize the coasts of Middle-earth, and ties between the Bellakaze body. Initiative for this decree came from Aldamir II, lord of and the Men of the West grew stronger. Concubinage of Bel- Hazaj Tollin, the most prominent city of the league. lakaze women was not uncommon among the colonists, and on For the colonists, “freedom” meant exemption from tribute, not some rare occasions even legally recognized marriages took place. independence from Númenor (subordination to the Line of Elros The mixed-blooded race resulting from these unions would be- being inseparable from their religious and cultural identity). But come a powerful and wealthy political faction in Bellakar over the Tar-Ciryatan, greedy for wealth, began to oppress the Men of centuries. In the Third Age of Middle-earth they would be so in- Middle-earth, sending his servants to seize gems and precious creased in numbers as to become the Bellakaze, a durable and true metals from its peoples. The mixed ancestry of the Bellakaranî foundation for the future sovereign kingdom of Bellakar. naturally gave cause for concern—would they too become subject In 1288 Númenóreans under the leadership of Ciryandur, Cap- to these exactions as were the Bellanarod? Anxious to preserve

3 Other Hands his reputation as a benefactor to the colonists, Ciryatan granted come the sacred duty of all true Dúnedain. Aldamir’s prayer that Bellakaze and Adûnâi alike should enjoy This propaganda was ingeniously formulated and brilliantly immunity from tribute. timed—and no doubt genuinely believed by Ciryandur and many of his supporters—but it held two tragic flaws. Eager though the DIPLOMACY AND INSURRECTION colonists might be to restore ancestral parity with their kinsfolk in (SA 2029-2222) Númenor, not all were willing to accept Ciryandur as “king”—a mere exchange of one tyrant for another, in the eyes of the fac- The precarious nature of Tar-Ciryatan’s concession soon re- tious cities. The second flaw in Ciryandur’s rhetoric was that it vealed itself in his still more rapacious heir, Tar-Atanamir the spoke only to the Dúnadan elite of the colonies, ignoring the Great, who upon his accession in 2029 unceremoniously reversed grievances of the more numerous Bellakaranî. These miscalcula- his father’s decree. A heavy tribute was now demanded of all the tions proved to be the undoing of Ciryandur’s designs. cities of Bellakar. Its exaction, however, was not easily effected, since several cities refused to pay, and the king had no loyal offi- THE FIFTEEN YEARS WAR cials or garrisons in the colonies. A royal envoy was sent to Hazaj Tollin and Thorombar, the (SA 2222-2250) largest and richest of the cities, making it clear to their lords that For the first year of the conflict, Ciryandur had great success. Atanamir was prepared to enforce his will with military might if The majority of the cities, most of their soldiery, and virtually all need be. Never before in their history had a Númenórean king of their warships, fell under his control. Númenor itself was home threatened the Bellakaranî with war. Realizing the hopelessness of only to a small, elite royal army and a fleet intended mainly to such a conflict, the terrified colonists submitted to the king’s com- keep pirates away from the king’s ships bringing tribute from En- mand. dor. If all the harbors of Bellakar could be secured by the rebel- Atanamir soon perceived that he might increase his revenues lion, Ancalimon might be forced to negotiate a resolution to the still further by treating with each of the colonies of Bellakar indi- conflict or face a war so prolonged that the other colonies might vidually, playing upon inter-city rivalries to intensify competition be unwilling to support it. for royal favor. The king promised a reduction of tribute to those As Ancalimon was marshaling a fleet and army in Númenor to cities that pledged other sources of income to the Sceptre. This of- suppress Ciryandur’s revolt, Mornion II, lord of Korlea, following fer precipitated strife within and among the cities because the the custom of the Ârûwanâi, changed his name to its Adûnaic Dúnadan ruling classes sought to shift the burden of royal finance form, Mûrathôr, thereby aligning himself with the party of the upon the Bellakaze and Bellanarod, while the more martially- King’s Men, and attacked Hazaj Tollin by surprise. Korlea had inclined cities found pretexts to invade or plunder neighboring been founded as a royal garrison against the expansion of the territories in quest of wealth to feed the king’s coffers. Bozishnarod and was regarded with suspicion by the other cities The Bellanarod lost what little freedom they had preserved in of Bellakar. the slums of the cities and in the villages beyond the Númenórean Mûrathôr perceived that, if he were to crush the rebellion be- colonial strongholds. They were battered into submission, impris- fore the arrival of the king’s forces, Ancalimon would favor Kor- oned and embittered by their own poverty. The chaotic environ- lea, just as Atanamir and other kings had done before him. ment that had developed in Bellakar thus doubly served the inter- Mûrathôr’s gambit was a success, even though he failed to capture ests of the Númenórean monarch: it increased his revenues and Ciryandur’s capital. A few other cities of Bellakar not already al- diverted the military strength of the colonies away from rebellion lied with Hazaj Tollin followed Mûrathôr’s lead. The king now against his authority. had ports and fortresses in southern Bellakar. His fleet could be In the end, however, Atanamir’s attempt to keep his subjects in landed, his spies could seek support among the Bellakaze. The check failed. Repression and wastage eroded the loyalties of all war was slow and brutal: some cities were besieged, captured and the Bellakaranî. The constant threat of war brutalized their rulers sacked, the country was devastated, but the Bellakaranî fought and left the cities with a dangerous overburden of ships and rest- back fiercely. The conflict lasted fifteen years and ended when less warriors. In 2222, soon after Atanamir’s death and the acces- both sides were too exhausted to go on. sion of his son Ancalimon, the new lord of Hazaj Tollin, Ciryan- In 2237 the rebellious cities accepted peace terms and were dur II, took the title of Tar-Heruhyarmen, “Lord of the South,” a placed under the supervision of Mûrathôr’s successors and allies. manifest act of rebellion against the Line of Elros. Having re- The Council of Free Cities was formally abolished in 2240. The cently forged an alliance between his own city and those of “stewardship” of the rebel cities by the ascendant Ârûwanâi lasted Thorombar and Ost Doranor, Ciryandur launched a vigorous a century, after which their autonomy (though not freedom from propaganda campaign, justifying insurrection against the tribute) was restored. The destruction, loss of life, and acts of cru- “Tyranny of Armenelos.” elty that accompanied the Fifteen Years War left the survivors Ciryandur argued that by treating the Dúnedain no differently with a bitter taste in their mouths. than the Bellakaze, Atanamir and his successor were denying The victory of Mûrathôr polarized the colonists, as there were them their Númenórean heritage. In Númenor itself, moreover, many in Bellakar (particularly in Hazaj Tollin and Ithillond) who Atanamir had recently rebuffed the emissaries of the Valar. His were never able to completely reconcile themselves with the party son had now compounded this act of impiety by acknowledging of the King’s Men. Nevertheless, the attitudes and customs of the the party of the Ârûwanâi, the “King’s Men,” as his favored sup- Ârûwanâi came to dominate the Númenóreans of Bellakar. This porters, alienating the “Faithful,” who supported the traditional was seen especially in the assertion of Bellakarian commercial ties with the Valar and the Elves, and also the more vigorous colo- privilege in the Bozishnara port of Najmol, which precipitated a nial factions in Middle-earth. Many of the Ârûwanâi saw these bloodless but strong-handed political takeover of the city in 2240 political enemies as impure, less Dúnadan in thought and blood, by a cabal of mercantile interests based in Thorombar, Hazaj Tol- than those born and living in Númenor and having their first loy- lin and Ost Doranor as well as Korlea. To make clear to the alties to the monarchy. As Ciryandur saw it, the Line of Elros had Bozishnarod that the Adûnâi would tolerate no rivalry on the Az- therefore given up any claim to rule by the Grace of the Valar. ra’m-Miraz, they renamed the haven Balkuzôr, the first city of Far from being an act of impiety, revolt against the king had be- Bellakar to receive an Adûnaic name.

4 Realm of Bellakar But it was not simply the local dominance of Mûrathôr’s party dinate their actions in northern and southern Harad and so pre- that inspired this kind of behavior. Larger events were brewing vent the union of the King’s Men against either one of them. The that would decisively transform the whole of the South into the rebellious lord of Dor Alagothrim gave heed to Ard’s counsel, and heartland of Ârûwanâ influence in Middle-earth. A mere ten years laid his plans. after Ancalimon had crushed Bellakar’s hopes for independence, a As a stronghold of the Ârûwanâi, the city of Korlea was not new and greater insurrection reared its ugly head to trouble his slow in taking measures to strengthen its coastlands against any reign. potential threats from a now hostile Tulwang, the province of the Storm King’s empire that faced Bellakar from across the bay of THE WAR OF THE RENEGADES the same name. Five years after Herundil’s declaration of rebel- (SA 2250-2280) lion, a Korlean military colony, Târik an-Narduvî, was founded in order to maintain control of the sea-lanes opposite the Teeth of To the south of Bellakar, beyond the sprawling Bay of Tul- Kanjar on the Tulwang coast, thereby also protecting with wang, stretched the vast Númenórean dominions named after An- Balkuzôr access to Sîres Bay. But the Men of Korlea restrained calimon’s grandfather: Ciryatanórë. Originally a coastal colony their warriors, awaiting the word of their king. th like Bellakar, in the 20 century Ciryatanórë’s inland frontiers ex- The War of the Renegades, in which Tar-Ancalimon put down ploded north and east before the armies of its aggressive lord, the challenges to his sovereignty in Middle-earth, took place in Herundil, grand-nephew of Tar-Ciryatan, destined to become the 2280. Both Umbar and Bellakar were commanded to field armies Ringwraith Akhôrahil. For seven decades Herundil violently on their king’s behalf, but only Bellakar answered the summons. pushed the sphere of Númenórean hegemony across the breadth The failure of Umbar to send assistance to Ancalimon’s war of Haradwaith until his soldiers set foot upon the shores of the against Dor Alagothrim was due to Ard’s intervention. Bay of Ormal in the east, blazing a corridor along the northern Even before the summons came, she unleashed her Haruze feet of the Yellow Mountains. forces upon provincial Umbar, overrunning the coastal settle- Two and a half centuries of uninterrupted Númenórean domi- ments along the Cape of Umbar and driving south to overwhelm nation followed, making Ciryatanórë the most important source of Umbar’s colonial forces before they could be reinforced from royal tribute in Endor. In spite of his preeminence as the quintes- Númenor or Pelargir. Her main army, however, was routed by sential vassal of Armenelos, however, Herundil did precious little the well-disciplined Númenórean infantry at a narrow place in the to aid his royal cousin in the suppression of Ciryandur’s revolt, coastal hills, Cirith Glingal, within sight of the Bay of Umbar. She though he could easily have done so, considering the vast military was eventually forced to abandon Vamag and Haruzan for the power he now wielded. Herundil’s inactivity drew suspicion upon mountain marches of Mordor, beyond the reach of the Dúnedain. him in Númenor: had he hoped for the victory of the Bellakarian Herundil too met with an unexpected reversal, thanks to the rebels, waiting for his opportunity to break away from the king Ârûwanâi of Bellakar. During the thirty-year interim between and claim Ciryatanórë as an independent realm? Herundil’s renunciation of the king and the arrival of Ancalimon’s These fears were entirely justified. In 2250, before an astounded fleet, Ârûzîr son of Mûrathôr, lord of Korlea, had endeavored to ambassador from Armenelos, Herundil renounced his allegiance foment unrest in Tulwang. Ârûzîr was also successful in rallying to the Line of Elros. In token of his claim upon Ancalimon’s lands support against the conqueror among the Haradrim of Bozisha- in Middle-earth, Herundil took the title of Tar-Raumoher, the Miraz and Sîrayn. Through bribery and promises of royal (and Storm King, an epithet derived from his conquests. (The Men of Korlean) favor, Ârûzîr induced the port-cities of northern Tul- Haradwaith used to speak fearfully of Herundil’s marauding ar- wang to betray Herundil and open their harbors to the ships of mies as the “Storms of Westernesse.”) To dramatize his breach the king. Using these harbors as a base, the Mardruak horseman with the heir of Ciryatan, Herundil erased the dead king’s name of Bellakar and the Gusar cavalry of Bozisha-Miraz were able to from the land, renaming it Dor Alagothrim, Realm of Storm-host. sweep southward across Tulwang and seize several small ports on But worse was yet to come. Not only did Herundil sever his ties its borders with the core territory of Dor Alagothrim. with Armenelos, he also openly declared himself an ally of Sauron Beset and blinded by Haradon attacks from the deserts all along of Mordor. Herundil had long been in secret alliance with the his northern frontier, and unaware of the suborning of his subjects Dark Lord, who had granted him one of the nine Rings of Power on this critical front, Herundil was beside himself with rage when following the conclusion of his campaigns of conquest in 2000. a fleet and army from Númenor, Bellakar, Hyarnúmentë and Herundil would no longer conceal his true loyalties from the eyes Mírenórë made their landing unopposed on his coasts. It was a fa- of the king. The time had come to challenge the might of tal blow to all his well-laid plans; for now his general, Vaiwatan, Númenor. who had been absent in his eastern dominions raising troops, was But Herundil would not stand alone, for there was another too far away to prevent Ancalimon’s forces from marching into Númenórean renegade who wielded a Ring of Power over the the heart of the Storm King’s realm. Vaiwatan moved with great sands of Haradwaith. This was Ard the Vain (as her Haruze sub- speed to concentrate what troops were available to block the jects called her; her birth-name was Andúniel, which she no Númenórean advance, but his army was met and defeated by the longer used except in its Adûnaic form—Adûnaphel—whenever King’s Men near the oasis of Fult, and soon thereafter the victori- she needed to make a pretense of loyalty to the king). Her treach- ous Ârûwanâi burnt and razed Herundil’s capital of Barad An- ery had begun long before that of Herundil. Though, like him, nûn. Ard desired dominion over Men, for many years she restrained Though his body was never recovered, it was believed by the victors her ambitions, carving out a native domain in Haruzan which she that Herundil perished in the conflagration of Barad Annûn. But it was quietly ruled from Vamag on the Cape of Umbar, always submit- not so. He fled instead into the fastness of the Yellow Mountains, hop- ting outwardly to the will of Ciryatan and his heirs. ing to rally his loyal supporters and gather another army. However, Now, however, with Herundil’s bold renunciation of Arme- Sauron had studied carefully the destructive potential of Númenórean nelos, Ard perceived that the time for secret plots was soon to be might as it vented its wrath against his allies in Haruzan and Dor past. While Tar-Ancalimon and his Ârûwanâ allies in western Alagothrim. He considered further resistance futile, and deemed that Middle-earth mustered for war, she declared her loyalty once the time for calling upon Herundil’s debt to him had arrived. again, but sent messengers to the Storm King, urging him to coor-

5 Other Hands Reciting words of power that now bound Herundil’s soul to him of Bellakar, and its domestic territory continued to grow through through the darkest of sorceries, Sauron summoned him to Mor- colonization or forcible imposition on its neighbors. dor. The would-be Storm King found himself riding and marching In 2452, Korlea and its easternmost colony of Târik an-Narduvî across the wastes of Haradwaith against his will, accompanied by (now a power in its own right) concluded a treaty defining Korlea a few terrified servants, every step a torment of shame and fear. and its allies as a distinct and privileged region within Bellakar. Eventually he crossed the Mountains of Shadow and came to This domain, created by fiat, pushed the traditional boundaries of Barad-dûr, to stand alone before the Dark Lord on his dark Korlea north and east of the Lôkhurush vale to encompass that of throne. His new master stripped him of his raiment of flesh, the Sîres also, thus embracing both river crossings of the Batân damning his soul to eternal slavery as a bodiless wraith, in the an-Sakal as well as driving a wedge between it and the territory of Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. Nîlûlôni. Together, Korlea and Târik an-Narduvî would dominate both land and sea routes through Bellakar, thus draining the life- THE NEW ORDER blood of its other cities. (SA 2280-2638) This was the last straw for those cities still free of Korlean influence. Korlea was aiming for total mastery over Bellakar, and its Tar-Ancalimon’s victory was also a victory for the Ârûwanâi, victims were bereft of any institutions by which to oppose its because it meant that they, as the king’s loyalists, would enjoy the strong-handed tactics. Armed resistance was out of the question: fruits of power in the new political order—not only in Umbar and deprived of two major sources of income, the Bellakarian cities Bellakar, but over the remnants of Herundil’s shattered empire, were barely able to render the annual tribute to the king, much which now awaited a new leadership worthy of Ancalimon’s trust. less maintain a fighting force beyond the city guard. The far-flung eastern domains of the Storm King—Chennacatt, But diplomacy proved equally futile, for Tar-Telemmaitë, Anca- Sîrayn and Harshandatt—were as yet unsubjugated, but Tulwang limon’s son and successor, was an avaricious monarch, concerned and Ciryatanórë proper now lay totally under Ancalimon’s con- only with his own wealth. Bellakarian pleas for him to curb Kor- trol, ripe for reordering. lean aggrandizement fell on deaf ears when Korlean ambassadors Ancalimon’s first act was to issue a decree that, in recognition of informed the king that their territorial expansion was being made their loyalty to him, all lands where the Ârûwanâi held sway in order to conduct a thorough search of the Auz Bekar for possi- should abandon their Eldarin names in exchange for names of the ble sources of mithril (a ruse supported by appropriate testimony Adûnaic tongue. Ciryatanórë was renamed yet again Anbalukkhôr. from bribed geological experts and surveyors from Umbar). Un- So too with its southern neighbors: Hyarnúmentë became fortunately for the Bellakaranî, it took Telemmaitë 74 years after Khâradûnê, Mírenórë Zimrathâni. Bellakar followed suit: Ithillond the Korlean expansion to die and be succeeded by a more just and became Nîlûlôni, the coastal road of Men Falas Batân an-Sakal, sensible ruler. Ost Doranor Ûrêzâyan and Thorombar Narîk-zadan. Even rivers This was Herucalmo, who from 2526 governed Númenor and changed their names: Rothló became the Rôthurush and Lhúchir its colonies in the name of his idle wife, Tar-Vanimeldë. While not the Lôkhurush. overly sympathetic towards cities with a history of rebellion, The king rejected the request of Herundil’s son, Lôkhuzôr, to govern in his father’s stead. Though he hated his father and had Herucalmo was at least pragmatic enough to realize that, should become an ardent follower of the Ârûwanâi in Númenor, Lôk- Korlean power be left free to wax unfettered, the revenues of Bel- huzôr was regarded with grave suspicion by his countrymen, hav- lakar would soon all be flowing into Korlean rather than royal ing been born of an incestuous union between Herundil and his coffers. He accordingly restored the lands of the Sîres valley to sister. But even had the king thought better of Lôkhuzôr, he still Nîlûlôni, confining Korlea’s territory to its pre-2452 boundaries would have denied him his petition. Ancalimon was hardly pre- (though allowing it to retain its privileged status as a domain ex- pared to entrust this rebellious region to a dynastic succession. empt from the laws that bound other Bellakarian cities). Instead, Ancalimon divided the lands under his control into Herucalmo outlived his queen, succeeding upon her death in three provinces: Northern and Southern Tulwang, and coastal 2637 as Tar-Anducal. Four centuries had now passed since the Anbalukkhôr. The administration of these regions was entrusted War of the Renegades, and southern Middle-earth had become a to five regents: Ârûzîr of Korlea for Northern Tulwang; Imrazôr, very different place. The King’s Men had long since ceased to be a lord of Inzillôni in Khâradûnê, for Southern Tulwang; An- distinct "party" in Númenórean politics. By and large, the ideals balukkhôr would be jointly governed by Dâiruzôr of Târik an- and mores they promulgated had by this time saturated Adûnaic Narduvî, Zagarkhâd of Khâradûnê, and Zagarthôr of Zimrathâni. culture as a whole. While this made the world a safer place for the In theory, the king could transfer the regency to anyone he imperium of Armenelos, it also blunted the exclusive political lever- pleased, but in practice the honor became hereditary to certain age once enjoyed by the Ârûwanâi over against other loyal sub- families. jects of the Sceptre. These regents would form a council, the Bâitha’n-Khôrî, that Under Anducal’s rule, the shift in power resulting from this would meet annually at the site of Barad Annûn (to be rebuilt as change was felt in both Bellakar and its southern neighbors. For Zadan an-Adûn) on behalf of the royal interest. The authority of the latter it meant the dissolution of the Bâitha’n-Khôrî. Vexed at each of the Khôrî would be coeval with the others, and any resolu- the irresponsible use of Tulwang and Anbalukkhôr for the self- tion would require the assent of the majority except in war aggrandizement of their neighbors (and its undesirable effects on (during which time they would submit to the rule of an elected the royal tribute), Anducal terminated the Bâitha and reunified its chief). A chief regent would function during peacetime as well, three provinces into a single lordship centered in Anbalukkhôr. but the tenure of their office would be limited to five years and Surrounded as it now was on all sides by Ârûwanâ colonies loyal could not be repeated, being rotated according to their country of to the Line of Elros, the prospect of (and indeed motivation for) origin: first Korlea, next Khâradûnê, then Zimrathâni. revolt had subsided. Korlea thus came to exercise hegemony over both the northern The new lord of Anbalukkhôr, Azrubên of Rómenna, was a and southern coasts of the Bay of Tulwang, giving it exclusive powerful Ârûwanâ noble, recently joined in marriage to the royal control over the maritime trade routes to Bozisha-Dar (a privilege house, who had proven his worthiness and competence through which it did not hesitate to enforce, levying substantial tariffs on years of service as Herucalmo’s factor in Southlands. Azrubên merchant vessels and winning new political allies through the dis- shared the king’s attitude towards the political situation on the tribution of exemptions). Korlea soon became the wealthiest city 6 Realm of Bellakar

Bay of Tulwang, and lost no time in curtailing Bellakarian influ- Although a natural ally of Korlea, Abârhîn’s city had suffered ence there. In this he found an important ally in Abârhîn, the lord economically from the high tolls placed on imports originating of Balkuzôr. from its ancient mother-city of Bozisha-Dar. Since Balkuzôr had not participated in Ciryandur’s revolt and had shown its quality in 7 Other Hands the War of the Renegades, Abârhîn’s representations to the lord In 2646 this coalition of embittered Southrons fell hard upon of Anbalukkhôr were not handicapped by the stigma attached to Mardruak and the inland frontiers of Bellakar. Never having ex- ambassadors sent by the cities of northern Bellakar. perienced a coordinated, large-scale assault from the desert, the Azrubên’s efforts to break Korlea’s stranglehold on the sea- Kadîr were unprepared and their territories suffered great loss lanes immediately ingratiated him among the Bozishnarod, and destruction. Seeing the straits into which the fledgling Bâitha thereby securing his interests in that direction. His actions im- had plunged, Tar-Anducal commanded Inzilkhâd, one of his pressed upon the king that the situation in Bellakar was quite dif- trusted captains in Umbar, to crush the revolt. Inzilkhâd knew ferent from that of Anbalukkhôr. There the problem was precisely well the mind of the nomads of Haradwaith, having long dealt the reverse: it was the growing power of Korlea that was causing with the Jelut tribes on Umbar’s own borders. If the instigators of the deterioration of its neighboring colonies. Anducal’s solution, the uprising were crushed, the desert raiders would soon lose mo- prompted by the counsels of Azrubên and Abârhîn, was to rein- mentum and withdraw from the coastal regions. state the Council of Free Cities—the Bâitha’n-Kadîr—in 2638. Inzilkhâd landed a strong force at the mouth of the Sîres late in 2647, just seven miles downriver from Pon Agar’s headquarters at THE BÂITHA’N-KADÎR Gull Rock, a granite butte that housed a shrine to Ladnoca the (SA 2638-3100) Moon. Deploying auxiliaries from Korlea and Balkuzôr to screen his infantry from the nomads, Inzilkhâd laid siege to Gull Rock Abârhîn of Balkuzôr did not find it difficult to persuade the and captured its summit by stratagem. Pon Agar and the defend- other cities (apart from Korlea, which stood to lose from it) to ers were massacred, and the rebellion came to an end soon after- adopt the new arrangement, which contributed to definitively ce- wards. menting relations among the cities, as well as gradually ensuring The Bâitha’n-Kadîr was here to stay. But so was Inzilkhâd, re- the preeminence of Hazaj Tollin. Anducal chose Hazaj Tollin as a ceiving permission from Tar-Anducal the following year to erect a meeting place for this Bâitha because its distance from Korlea military colony on Gull Rock. Inzilkhâd named this city Zimra- contributed to the balance of power he sought to effect. zadan, the House of the Jewel, after the glittering, ruby-walled But though it was to be governed, like its predecessor, by an caves by whose secret passage he had taken the enemy strong- elected body of councilors called asapthubêthî (sing. asapthubêth), hold. The incorporation of Zimra-zadan into the Bâitha defini- the organization of the new league differed significantly from the tively set the boundary between Bellakar and Bozisha-Miraz. old. Executive authority over the cities (and responsibility for col- Over the next two centuries, the Kadîr continued to supplant lecting the royal tribute) would now be held jointly by three asap- Bozishnara influence along Bellakar’s desert frontier, culminating thubêthî, annually elected by the combined citizenries of the in the induction of the oasis-town of Khibil Êphalak into the league. In addition, a standing army was formed that would coex- league in 2849. Four years earlier, men from Nîlûlôni had discov- ist with the militia of the individual colonies. ered significant deposits of copper near the site of a long-deserted By its integration of monarchic, aristocratic and democratic Cuind settlement during an exploration of the inner reaches of the principles, Bellakar in some ways came to resemble the republic of Auz Bekar, and a few years later, a small Númenórean colony Koronandë in the Mûmakan, in the south of Endor, or the free sprung up. The inclusion of this distant oasis ensured a constant cities of the Pelargirean league on Belfalas Bay in the northwest. connection to the caravan routes for Nîlûlôni, since the new col- Neither of these were well thought of by the Ârûwanâi; the first ony, even more so than the other cities of Bellakar, did not possess was a creation of native Endorians, the second a haven for the enough arable land to become self-sufficient. Faithful. Both realms made alliance with Elves. However, the Khibil Êphalak also served to counterbalance the unceasing ef- king thought that the quarrelsome Bellakarian cities were suited forts by Korlea to dominate the league economically. More impor- to such a regime and could be pacified by a small gift of freedom. tantly, though, it extended the gaze of the Adûnâi beyond the nar- If the Bâitha portended an easing of tensions among the Adûnâi row confines of their seaward lands, opening their eyes to a vast of Bellakar, it did little to conciliate the native element. To the continental expanse, where an old power was rising anew. Bellanarod of the Sîres valley, domination by Nîlûlôni differed little from life under the thumb of Korlea or Balkuzôr. To Pon Agar, THE NELEGAJE a Bellakaze nobleman whose family’s influence over the vale had seen better days, the institution of the Bâitha was but the final nail (SA 3100-3260) in the coffin of Southron dominance in the region. In 2280, Sauron judged that his strength was not yet sufficient After eight years of failed attempts to win concessions from the to challenge Númenórean supremacy in Middle-earth. But now, Bâitha, Pon Agar decided to take back the lower Sîres by force. A nigh on a millennium later, his strength had grown great indeed. hard-headed realist, Pon Agar knew that the Bellanarod could not At first, the Dark Lord contented himself with clandestine at- stand alone against the union of the Adûnaic cities—even were he tempts to goad the colonies into renewed rebellion against their to succeed in soliciting the aid of his countrymen in Bozisha-Dar. king. He essayed this through spies sent to subvert influential in- But there existed another, largely untapped, power which, if dividuals to his worship, all the while deflecting attention from roused, might bring the Kadîr to their knees. These were the de- Sauron’s machinations by preying upon Númenórean distrust of sert nomads of the Auz Bekar with whom the Agar clan had the increasingly oppressed Bellakaze and Bellanarod. strong ties from time immemorial. Númenor’s overweening pride of race caused the Bellakaze to Through persuasion, payment and promises of shared control be gradually stripped of political power, while its increasing deca- over the desert trade routes, Pon Agar secured the swords of the dence and greed crushed the Bellanarod with taxes and tribute. Aukuag in his cause. The Aukuag in turn won over some of their Both groups showed increasing bitterness toward their rulers, kinsmen on the Cape of Mardruak, who were poised to threaten bringing a dark fear to the Dúnadan masters of the cities. If some Narîk-zadan and Hazaj Tollin, the northernmost cities of the leading Númenórean citizen was murdered, or a conflict born—in Bâitha. The alliance was completed by the participation of the short, if any evil befell the Kadîr—blame was subtly shifted to the Bozishnarod of the Forest Coast and the Covshek nomads of Sud natives. Sicanna. When Sauron’s efforts to shake the loyalty of the Adûnâi failed,

8 Realm of Bellakar he reversed his tactics, appealing instead to the increasingly stig- armed most of its Bellakaze auxiliaries and militia following the matized Bellakaze and Bellanarod. This time Sauron succeeded, revolt, and feared to weaken the league army at home, lest the re- since the grievances his emissaries cited were real. Blocked from bel Bellanarod exploit the situation to their advantage. an open invasion of Bellakar due to its natural defenses of desert Fortunately for the Kadîr, the conflict with Sauron proved un- and sea, Sauron’s agents inspired the populace to revolt against expectedly short-lived. In 3262 Ar-Pharazôn elicited the Dark their Dúnadan overlords. This uprising, called the Nelegaje or Lord’s surrender at Umbar and bore him back to Númenor as a “Grievance Revolt,” involved mainly the Bellakaze, with Bel- hostage for the complaisance of his subjects and allies in Middle- lanarod and Aukuag allies. It was dragged out by prolonged guer- earth. Within three years, however, Sauron had won the king’s illa warfare throughout the Bellakarian hinterland. trust as a counselor and persuaded him to turn to the worship of The Nelegaje broke out in concert with a number of other in- Mulkhêr, Lord of the Dark, in pursuit of immortality. trigues and more direct assaults by allies of the Dark Lord, all The ramifications of this event for the history of Bellakar were aimed at Númenórean coastal dominions during the late 3100s profound. Massaging the already inflated arrogance of the and early 3200s. Because of its strategic insulation from Mordor Númenóreans, Sauron led the Dúnedain to regard other Men as and its position astride the sea passage between Endor and nothing more than slaves—to be burned alive in sacrifice to Mulk- Númenor, Bellakar was one of the first theaters of action for hêr if they should in any way displease their masters. Pharazôn son of Gimilkhâd, kinsman of Tar-Palantir the king, who led the Númenórean reprisal against Sauron’s incursions. Not all the Dúnedain of Bellakar embraced this belief with With the assistance of this daring captain, the Bâitha’n-Kadîr equal enthusiasm. Many, having lived out their lives in “the lands managed to suppress the Bellakaze and their Bellanara allies be- of swift death and little bliss,” were less affected by their home- ginning in 3240, enabling Pharazôn to use Bellakar as a secure land’s obsession with deathlessness—yet none were unmoved by base of operations for his campaigns further north and south. it. Some of the more practical-minded citizens of Nîlûlôni, Hazaj Pharazôn ingratiated himself with the Bâitha by setting its af- Tollin and Narîk-zadan saw no point in giving further provoca- fairs in order and restraining his troops from despoiling colonists. tion to rebellion among the Bellakaranî. The fanaticism of the His harsh treatment of the rebels, on the other hand, won him lit- king, however, all but guaranteed involvement in the cult as the tle favor from that quarter. They had been humbled but not rec- new road to royal favor. Currying favor with the king had, onciled, and not long after Pharazôn withdrew his forces in 3243 throughout Bellakar’s history, proven itself the most potent ingre- they revolted again, seeing no hope of restoring their fortunes by dient in fueling rivalries among the Kadîr. peaceful means. The city of Korlea, traditional stronghold of royalist support in The resumption of hostilities, though in harmony with the Dark Bellakar since the Fifteen Years War, was the first member of the Lord’s designs, scarcely required his prompting at this point. This league to adopt the cult as its official religion. A temple to Mulk- second insurrection, however, proved less of a threat to the Kadîr, hêr was erected in Korlea in imitation of the one that now stood in since the strength of the rebels had been greatly weakened in the the midst of Armenelos, and through the representations of its as- Nelegaje. No appeal for royal military assistance was required. apthubêth (backed up by the encouragement of the king) the Defeated, the Bellakaranî that still held out withdrew into the hin- Bâitha declared relentless war upon the intransigent Bellanarod terland and occupied defensible positions that lay far from the still holding out on the desert frontier of the league. zone of Númenórean hegemony; the Adûnâi, content with having rid themselves of the most troublesome element of their subject The Bellakaze of Nîlûlôni, Hazaj Tollin and Narîk-zadan that population, made only token efforts in 3260 to dislodge them from submitted to the Bâitha following the Second Revolt were granted their fastnesses in the mountains and hill country. protection from the cult as a matter of civic integrity—the consti- tutional framework of the league still provided some check against the arbitrary encroachments of Korlea—but in conformity with THE LORD OF THE DARK the king’s new law his non-Dúnadan subjects were deprived of all (SA 3260-3310) political rights within the Bâitha. In these cities, the Bellakaze re- The Bâitha’s dilatory response to the Second Revolt stemmed ceived better treatment than in southern Bellakar, and many of less from negligence than from necessity. Twelve years after the Adûnâi continued to privately regard them as allies. Pharazôn’s withdrawal from Bellakar, Tar-Palantir died and was The other asapthubêthî approved the war vote less out of a desire succeeded by his daughter, Tar-Míriel. The ambitious Pharazôn, to exterminate the rebels than in hopes it would occupy the bellig- relying upon his influence among the Ârûwanâi, his popularity with the people of Númenor and, above all, the armed might of his erence of Korlea and prevent its ambitious citizens from using the fleet and soldiery, claimed the Sceptre and forcibly took Míriel to cult as a pretext for eroding the authority of the other Kadîr. The wife in 3255. In that same year, Sauron named himself “King of campaign of subjugation that followed in 3280 might have been Men,” this time with vaster resources and manpower to defend swiftly concluded had royal forces been sent to strengthen the the claim. A great war was brewing on the horizon, and the league army—the king being eager to feed the fires of Mulkhêr’s Bâitha knew that it must prevent its military forces from becom- altar with Bellakarian blood—but Korlea begged Ar-Pharazôn to ing embroiled in the suppression of local rebels while the fate of allow them space to prove their unassisted zeal for the Lord of the the world lay in the balance. Dark. It was Ârûwanâ politics as usual, and the Kadîr could ill- It was the Dark Lord who struck the first blow, concentrating afford to oppose this demonstration of religious fervor. Nor did his assault upon the haven and hinterland of Umbar, Númenor’s they yet feel impelled to dissuade Korlea from its crusade, buying strongest foothold in Middle-earth. The Bâitha dutifully sent time to counter its newfound influence by other means. troops to aid their northern brethren while the king prepared his Like the revolt that preceded it, this was to be a drawn-out af- fleets. Support, however, was minimal, since the Bâitha had dis- fair of hill and mountain warfare. But the novel opportunities for

9 Other Hands royal favor afforded by the legalization of slavery which it offered vote, ruling instead that a delegation be sent to lay the matter be- altered the character of this conflict. The goal was no longer the fore the king in Armenelos. The Bozishnarod did likewise, anx- restoration of order, but the provocation of further fighting. The ious to stymie Korlean belligerence by negotiating a peaceful set- Bellanarod fought valiantly, realizing the implacable nature of the tlement. foe, and on several occasions they were victorious due to their mastery of the terrain; but ultimately they were always forced to THE EMBASSY OF ZIGÛRKHIL withdraw or face utter destruction as the Bâitha’s steel-clad sol- (SA 3310-3319) diery gathered before their strongholds. This diplomatic activity resulted in an unexpected outcome. In The fighting dragged on intermittently for a generation until all this year (3310) Ar-Pharazôn was on the verge of announcing his remaining pockets of resistance along the coasts and in the adja- plans for the Great Armament, that mad scheme to seize the Un- cent Bellakarian hill country had been annihilated. The surviving dying Lands from the Deathless that brought about the Downfall Bellanarod retreated deep into the Auz Bekar, so that the Kor- of Númenor and the ruin of the ancient world. With so great an leans could no longer pretend to be “liberating” the league territo- undertaking at hand, Korlean complaints about trade disputes and ries from “heathen aggression.” The costs of the war were begin- local corruption rang hollow in the king’s ear. Such matters could ning to weigh heavily upon the Bâitha, so that eventually even the wait until after he had won the greater prize of immortality. most moderate of the Kadîr were forced to participate in the wan- As the king’s counselor, Sauron, ever ready to work secret evil ton trafficking in plunder and human life to finance their military against the Númenóreans, persuaded Pharazôn to send a trusted obligations to the Bâitha. Korlea, however, remained always at the representative of his interests to investigate the allegations forefront of the slaughter and the profit, until it recovered the eco- brought against the heathen, and especially to assess the worthi- nomic supremacy it had once wielded following the War of the ness of the Men of Balkuzôr to participate in the cult at Korlea. Renegades. To this the king gladly assented, hoping that the gesture would The prominence of Korlea propelled its rivals (especially Hazaj satisfy all concerned until he had leisure to resolve the situation Tollin) to emulate Mulkhêr’s followers. Not that the cult ever took personally. Naturally, such a response satisfied no one—the king hold publicly in any of the other cities. Certainly no temple to was playing the same stalling game. Mulkhêr was raised to vie with that of Korlea—the Men of Korlea Sauron, however, had no intention of allowing the matter to dif- would see to it that they alone enjoyed that distinction. But in this fuse itself. To ensure that it did not, he gave secret instructions to time of doubt and distrust it was inevitable that many ambitious Pharazôn’s envoy to escalate the conflict. This was Zigûrkhil, a fa- individuals would fall prey to the promises of the Lord of the natical devotee of Mulkhêr chosen by Sauron himself. Zigûrkhil’s Dark. Factions arose within the Kadîr, some urging official adop- mission was to enflame the Korleans to embark on a crusade to tion of the king’s worship, others opposing its emulation, either convert the Kadîr to the worship of the Dark, or to treat them as out of genuine principle or from fear of its consequences for law heathen to be destroyed for the glory of Mulkhêr. and order. This mission to Bellakar was combined with a declaration of the But Korlea had only begun to taste power. Chafing for more king’s intention to make war on Aman. Ar-Pharazôn commanded glorious triumphs, the Korleans strove to provoke a war with the Kadîr to marshal men, arms and provisions for the conflict. Bozisha-Miraz. Contending that the merchant princes of the Dar These forces were to be sent to Númenor by a specified date. A dominated the caravan and sea-ways at the king’s expense, the tithe of the total armed forces from each of the league-cities was Korlean asapthubêth urged the Bâitha in 3300 to levy exorbitant all that Pharazôn demanded. “But,” added Zigûrkhil, “those who tariffs on all traffic passing into Bellakar from Raj and all shipping would show their loyalty to the king will send in excess of that.” passing out of the Bay of Tulwang through “Bellakarian waters,” meaning the entire bay. By this remark Zigûrkhil made it plain to the Bâitha that their enthusiasm for Ar-Pharazôn’s plan would heavily influence the To add injury to insult, Korlea alleged that the constitution of king’s verdict concerning the Dar. This caused consternation Balkuzôr, once a Bozishnara colony and still a center for trade among the Kadîr. They had no desire to participate in the king’s with Raj, unjustly discriminated against its Númenórean citizens, mad war; even Târik an-Narduvî regarded Zigûrkhil’s stance with its government corrupted by powerful mercantile interests. They ambivalence. Others were genuinely zealous for Pharazôn’s war, demanded that Balkuzôr be allowed to become a “true” knowing that disgrace would accrue to the Ârûwanâ who re- Númenórean city, purged of its heathen degeneracy under the mained behind in so glorious a venture. protection of Korlea and Mulkhêr. Such proposals were designed to elicit Bozishnara opposition—and royal approval, since they For the Korleans, Zigûrkhil’s proclamation posed a dilemma. would enhance the king’s revenues and encourage the worship of Many of them pined for an opportunity to open hostilities against the Dark. their league rivals. If they failed to take action before the summons for mobilization came, the skeleton garrison that remained This placed the other Kadîr in a difficult position. The Korleans behind to guard Korlea would be scarcely sufficient to sustain war were playing the same card they had in the campaign against the against the other Kadîr. Indeed, militarily it was Korlea’s adver- Bellanarod, only this time the consequences of joining in—or of saries who would hold the upper hand if the other cities sent only refusing to do so—were dangerous. To victimize local recalci- the tithe of forces required by the king’s decree. They might even trants was one thing; to enter upon an unprovoked war against a be in a position to threaten Korlea itself. major foreign power was not only risky, but detrimental, since the economic stability of the league depended upon commerce with By instilling doubt into both sides, Zigûrkhil hastened the even- the city of Bozisha-Dar. tuality of war within the league. Heralded by this ominous prel- ude, the envoy commenced his diplomatic tour of Bellakar, sound- Such a conflict could only benefit Korlea—to the peril of the ing out the disposition of each city and taking note of individuals other Kadîr, as Korlea’s designs for hegemony over Balkuzôr and groups within them that might be manipulated for Sauron’s clearly revealed. The only viable alternative the Kadîr had was to purposes. stall for time. The Bâitha prescinded from putting the issue to a 10 Realm of Bellakar He received a cold reception in the north. In his wake, the more general, Belzagar of Nîlûlôni, solicited the aid of the estranged vigorous anti-Korlean elements within the government of Hazaj Bozishnarod, who beat the Mulkhêrians at their own game, draw- Tollin (soon followed by those of Nîlûlôni) reacted with surprising off the enemy’s strength by launching vigorous attempts to ing brutality, seizing anyone suspected of having given Zigûrkhil capture Zimra-zadan, Târik an-Narduvî and Balkuzôr from the a favorable hearing and condemning them to summary execution. sea. With their allies withdrawn, the Korlean host was compelled While distrust and repression poisoned the unity of the north- to decide the issue of the war in a single battle. ern league-cities, Zigûrkhil gloated over Korlea and its burgeon- There, upon the Vale of Lôkhurush, Korlea and its dark god ing dependencies. Inciting his co-religionists to a pitch of fanati- were halted, thanks to Bêlzagar’s surprise deployment of a newly cism, Sauron’s minion oversaw bloody purges of Bozishnara sup- recruited phalanx of Bellakaze spearmen to rout the Korlean right porters and anti-Mulkhêrite factions in Balkuzôr and Zimra- wing. The fighting continued unabated after nightfall, the time of zadan, aligning their inhabitants with the temple at Korlea. Mulkhêr’s power. But the Bellakaze of later days said that Balkuzôr’s ties to the Dar were severed and Zimra-zadan’s trade Zigûrkhil’s sorcery was confounded that night by Ladnoca the was tithed by the cult, both actions far exceeding Zigûrkhil’s au- Moon, whose brilliance miraculously vanquished the Lord of the thority. Dark. Whatever the truth of this story, dawn of the following day A renewed wave of diplomatic representations by the northern saw the Korlean forces in flight. Kadîr and outraged Bozishnarod appeared in Armenelos to de- Seeking refuge behind the walls of Korlea, the fugitive host was nounce Zigûrkhil’s actions, but at this point Ar-Pharazôn was suf- dismayed to find their city blockaded by a combined Bellakarian- ficiently preoccupied with the Great Armament (and Zigûrkhil Bozishnara fleet, with soldiers of the Kadîr and of the Dar de- sufficiently persuasive in his rebuttals to his accusers) that the ployed in line of battle upriver from the city gates, barring any en- king took no action. In fact, Pharazôn was so caught up with es- trance. The strategy and iron confidence of Belzagar had en- chatological fervor that he answered only with the words: "The trapped and doomed the Korleans. Surrounded on all sides, the hour is near. Put aside lesser matters and give thought to your Mulkhêrians were mercilessly slaughtered. The remaining defend- destiny." With this grim reply ringing in their ears, the ambassa- ers of the citadel of Korlea, refusing surrender, prepared to fight dors departed. to the last from the sanctum of their temple. But as they called When the unsuccessful legations returned to their cities, they upon Mulkhêr to deliver them from their foes, a great tremor rent were confronted with a horrible new development: the asapthubêth the earth beneath their feet, and the mighty city of Korlea was of Korlea had vanished—abducted and murdered, so Zigûrkhil felled, collapsing in ruin. It was an omen of Númenor’s destruc- claimed, by the treasonous leaders of Hazaj Tollin and Nîlûlôni. tion, and though they did not know it, the world had been (In actual fact, Zigûrkhil’s own minions had arranged the kidnap- changed. ping, and now came forth to produce the corpse along with evidence in support of the envoy’s allegations.) Secret communica- THE DOWNFALL OF NÚMENOR tions uncovered by his adjutants, claimed Zigûrkhil, revealed a (SA 3319-3421) plot by the Bâitha to assail the worshippers of Mulkhêr and incite a rebellion against the king. It was a lie—but a prophetic lie that Númenor’s drowning heralded a cataclysm greater than that begat swift fulfillment. which accompanied the War of Wrath: “all the coasts and seaward regions of the western world suffered great change and ruin in THE KORLEAN WAR that time; for the seas invaded the lands, and shores foundered, (SA 3319) and ancient isles were drowned, and new isles were uplifted; and hills crumbled and rivers were turned into strange courses Korlea now had the pretext it needed to justify the war it so (Sil.280).” The Earth, formerly flat, had been made round. greatly desired, and soon received a royal mandate to prosecute it. Bellakar did not escape this disaster. The earthquake that de- Ar-Pharazôn was furious at the treason of Bellakar on the very stroyed Korlea was matched by others, equally devastating, that eve of his campaign and assured his loyalists that they would win no lesser glory in annihilating those who would thwart him in rent the Lôkhurush and Sîres valleys, wreaking chaos in Târik an- Middle-earth than in Aman. “Thrice, unaided by aught but their Narduvî, Zimra-zadan and Nîlûlôni. Hazaj Tollin, Ûrêzâyan and own valor, your forefathers defended the honor of Anadûnê,” de- Balkuzôr fared no better, being swept away by massive tidal clared the king, recalling Korlea’s deeds in the wars and revolts of waves. Only Narîk-zadan, high atop its impregnable rock, weath- the past. “Let now that boast be made fourfold, and I shall exalt ered the storm. The loss of life was staggering, far greater than your name to the stars!” The year was 3319, and Númenor’s doom anything the war might have achieved. Its victors returned home was at hand. only to find their wives and children dead, the works of their The conflict that ensued would decide the future of Bellakar. hands demolished, their crops and livestock obliterated. Two On the one side stood Korlea, Balkuzôr, Târik an-Narduvî and thousand years of civilization had been undone in a single day. Zimra-zadan; on the other, Hazaj Tollin, Nîlûlôni and Ûrêzâyan. Once again, Belzagar of Nîlûlôni repaid the trust the Bâitha had Narîk-zadan would have joined the other Kadîr had it not been at- put in him. Now named asapthubêth of Nîlûlôni (the first Adûnâ of tacked suddenly by Mulkhêrian forces from the neighboring ha- half-Bellakaze blood ever to hold that office), Belzagar was sent to ven of Dûsalan (arranged by Zigûrkhil with the cooperation of re-establish friendship with the Dar, and to beg the Bozishnarod the Ârûwanâi of Umbar). (less damaged by the cataclysm) to lend the Bâitha their aid in re- Though numerically matched, the Korlean forces overshadowed building Bellakar. The lords of the Katedrala graciously received their opponents through the sorcerous powers wielded by Belzagar’s embassy and promised to do whatever was within their Zigûrkhil and his minions. But new strength was brought to the power to help, provided that the territory of Korlea was disman- ranks of the Kadîr when the Bâitha voted to restore to the Bel- tled and exiles were restored to Balkuzôr and Zimra-zadan. lakaze their political rights. Large numbers of them were promptly enrolled into the league army and fleet, fearing no In the weeks that followed, the Kadîr were too consumed with treachery, since native and Númenórean alike had become one in their own griefs to give heed to aught else, but eventually the omi- the eyes of a common foe. nous silence of the Sea began to trouble their hearts. What did it Even so, the war might have gone ill for the Kadîr had not their mean? Reports reached them from Umbar and Khâradûnê of 11 Other Hands similar devastation, and there too no ship of Númenor had been one as an “Adûnâ” varied according to city. seen upon the waves for many a moon. The most exclusive definition was upheld by the newly- In spring of the following year, emissaries appeared along the constituted citizenry of rebuilt Korlea. Though the original city’s coasts—emissaries whose banners bore a new device, a white inhabitants had been virtually extinguished by the cataclysm, the crown under seven stars. They had come from Pelargir, Haven of rich territory of Korlea was coveted by Adûnâi throughout the the Faithful, far to the north, and from these the Bellakaranî re- Kadîr whose former possessions had been ruined. Founded in ceived tidings: Númenor had fallen and Ar-Pharazôn had per- 3321, the new city was primarily peopled by citizens of ished; but the Lords of Andúnië—Elendil and his sons—having Númenórean heritage from throughout the league. Perhaps ironi- escaped death by the grace of the Valar, were now ordering cally, the city that the Kadîr had struggled to divest of the arro- realms in the Westlands, and received lordship over the Faithful gance of fallen Númenor had now reappeared, colonized by in Middle-earth. Adûnâi who were by no means immune to such tendencies. This news called forth at once sorrow, joy and wonder from its The Adûnaic aristocracy of Balkuzôr and Zimra-zadan, on the hearers. Fear, at last, of the mad tyrant was banished, and hope other hand, were not in a position to make such demands, and in- was born that the Kadîr might recover the peace they once knew. stead followed the lead of Nîlûlôni. This lack of uniformity within But for the Adûnâi this hope had come at a terrible price: the loss the league, particularly in the matter of military organization, was of their homeland. Not that many of them had ever lived in to put the Bâitha at a disadvantage in events on the horizon that Númenor—most had never even seen it—but the idea of would mark the end of the Second Age: the War of the Last Alli- Númenor as the wellspring of their culture and the glory of their ance. race was deep-seated. Bereft of it, they now faced the challenge of refashioning not only their lives, but their whole identity as a peo- THE LAST ALLIANCE ple. (SA 3421-3441) This sense of aporia was further rankled by Elendil’s presump- The Gondorian emissaries who brought news to Bellakar in tion of leadership over those who had resisted the King’s Men. Al- 3320 believed that Sauron had perished along with Númenor, though the ways of the Ârûwanâi had profoundly affected the lan- since it was reported that he had been in Armenelos at the time of guage and culture of Bellakar, the majority of its colonists had the cataclysm. And the years of peace that followed seemed to vin- parted company with the excesses of the later kings, especially the dicate this belief. Tragically, of course, this was not the case. Be- policies of Ar-Pharazôn. The concerns of the Faithful—the “Elf- ing a Maia, Sauron could not be utterly banished from the world friends” led by the Lords of Andúnië—lay distant from the hearts or prevented from assuming a new body. After a century of secret of the Dúnedain of Bellakar. Nevertheless, the Bellakaranî re- convalescence in Mordor, the Dark Lord sought to reactivate the spected the Valar and worshipped Eru, and that allegiance they allegiance of the Ârûwanâi for a great war against the Elendili and had never betrayed. By what right, therefore, did Elendil claim their Elven allies. precedence over them? The Adûnâi of Bellakar too remembered the legends of their The rebuilding of harbors and shipyards in the century after the race’s ancient friendship with the Eldar, in recognition of which Downfall allowed the Kadîr to open tenuous communications their forefathers had received the gift of Númenor; but like the with most of the former Númenórean colonies along the coasts of Valar, the Eldar were far from Bellakar. None in living memory Endor. However, they first received clear evidence of Sauron’s had ever beheld the High Elves or held converse with them. The plans from the Aukuag peoples dwelling along the caravan routes Eldar might be envied for their immortality, but ultimately their of Bozisha-Miraz. Among the tribes of the interior wastes, there existence did not affect the Bellakaranî, so there was no point in was word of the recent rise to power among the Haruze of the denying their ancestral tongue in favor of Sindarin. They were Dúnadan renegades Fuinur and Herumor. proud of their Adûnaic heritage. Sauron had promised these two exiles the lordship of Gondor in To the Kadîr, therefore, the proclamation of Elendil and his exchange for their fealty, and urged them to galvanize support in sons sounded arrogant, simply assuming that all but those who ac- the Southlands. Envoys from the brothers came to Bellakar in cepted their authority were “Black Númenóreans.” Indignant at 3421, appealing chiefly to those Adûnaic nobles who felt that their this, the asapthubêthî of the Bâitha, led by Belzagar, recounted supremacy over the Bellakaze was waning. The brothers promised their deeds against the Mulkhêrians, calling to witness all they to restore Bellakar’s greatness if it would ally its forces with the had suffered under Ar-Pharazôn and his Korlean vassals. Then, Lord of Mordor. having shown the ambassadors the devastation of their realm, the But the Bellakaranî were well-versed in the lies of the Enemy, asapthubêthî entreated them to deliver their reply to the Lords of and the Bâitha utterly rejected the brothers’ advances. The envoys Andúnië. bowed coldly upon receiving so unequivocal a rebuttal, and said The successful career of Belzagar spurred many of the Bel- only: “So be it. Our lords shall not forget it. Pray that the day of lakaze to seek a more prominent role within the traditionally their victory never comes, for it shall go ill with you.” But far from Númenórean-dominated Bâitha. This pressure generated new so- casting a shadow of doubt on their hearts, these words succeeded cial tensions within the Kadîr. While ready to reward Bellakaze only in closing the ranks of Adûnaic and Bellakaze opposition. valor in the overthrow of Korlea and its allies, the Adûnâi re- Even so, the prediction of the envoys—that Bellakar should suffer mained jealously protective of their preeminence—especially in if the Dark Lord’s war failed of its purpose—was to prove true, the wake of Númenor’s downfall. though not by the means he had imagined. But concessions had to be made. Pure-blooded Adûnâi were As the plans of the Dark Lord and his renegade allies became now decisively in the minority, and could not afford to risk poi- clear, the Bâitha debated whether they should remain neutral in soning relations with the urban and rural masses on whom the this conflict or cast in their lot with the alliance being formed survival of the league now depended. But many of those claiming against Sauron, mostly realms in the distant and little-known to be Adûnâi now possessed a fair amount of Bellakaze blood. The north of Endor. The situation was complicated by the influence of solution adopted in Hazaj Tollin, Narîk-zadan and Ûrêzâyan was the other Númenórean states of western and southern Middle- to allow Bellakaze to hold any office (including that of asap- earth. thubêth) in the elective league government, while reserving actual lordship over the individual cities and their militias for a select In the north, the old Númenórean colony of Cardolan was now number of Númenórean families. Definitions of what qualified a province of Elendil’s kingdom of Arnor, while all of the Pelar- 12 Realm of Bellakar girean league-towns were loyal to his sons, Isildur and Anárion, as Zagarthôr and Anárion had wisdom enough to make use of part of the kingdom of Gondor. With its northern border province their advantage. Without pause for rest or provision, Zagarthôr’s of Zâyan an-Khârurush now mostly populated by Haruze loyal to host fell upon the flank of Adûnaphel’s forces on the west bank of Fuinur and Herumor, Umbar was overwhelmingly hostile to the the Anduin, which had crossed the river in war-galleys. The Bel- Elendili, seeing them as a direct threat to their sovereignty. Its lakaranî struck the weakest part of Herumor’s lines, broke them, ships and soldiers would stand by the side of the Dark Lord. As and drove thousands of Haruze and Variags before them to drown Bellakar’s largest trading partner after the Dar, Umbar’s wishes in the river. Zagarthôr then led his men in storming the defended were of no little consequence to the Bellakarian cities. The future ships of Umbar moored on the Anduin’s banks. The burning and relations of the two realms would depend on the outcome of this capture of these ships ended the immediate threat to Pelargir and distant struggle in northern lands. Adûnaphel’s forces never again mounted so serious a threat to the To the south, Númenóreans in Tulwang and the Thânî Hazad city. (the Seven Dominions of northern and southern Pel, the Urîd The siege of Gondor was finally lifted by the coming of Elendil’s Pharazânî, Drel, northern and southern Zimrathâni, and Elorna) forces from the North. In 3430, fleets from Arnor and Elvish Lin- offered naval support to Sauron, while Anbalukkhôr, one-time don sank and scattered the ships blockading Gondor’s coasts. Za- stronghold of the renegade Herundil, would serve as a staging garthôr was able to tell the Bâitha of his victory. The ships of Bel- area for arms and armies from all across southern Endor. As the lakar convoyed cavalrymen and horses north to aid in Anárion time of the conflict drew near, privateers from the Thânî Hazad, and Isildur’s defense of their Anduin frontier. Mûmakan and the Dar swept Gondorian shipping from the In 3434 Elendil and Gil-galad marched south with the main coasts. Fleets of warships and merchantmen began moving north; army of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, striking at Mordor Bellakar, to keep its sea-lanes open, dared not interfere with them. out of Rhovanion and east of the Anduin. Fuinur and Adûnaphel Instead, for a time, the Bâitha stood aloof from the conflict and or- hastily withdrew most of their armies in front of Pelargir and dered the cities to look to their defense by building and arming marched them north through Ithilien to block the Alliance’s ad- their own ships. vance towards Cirith Gorgor. Anárion’s counterstroke across the Words of anger and rage flowed around the chambers of the river was led by Zagarthôr’s horse and archers, with Elvish scouts Bâitha, all over policies that many saw as hypocritical, if not cow- leading the Bellakaze through the forests of Ithilien and knights of ardly. The cities of Bellakar in which Adûnâi still held sway the Bâitha striking a savage blow on an enemy caught in line of wanted to send ships and troops to aid the Elendili and their allies, march. The survivors of Adûnaphel’s armies were driven into while those where the Bellakaze were becoming politically domi- Gorgoroth; the forces of Gondor and its allies moved north to the nant preferred to stay their hand and wait on events. At the last decisive battlefield in front of the northern gates of Mordor, soon hour, after the great war had already begun in the North, the to be known to history as Dagorlad, the Battle Plain. Bâitha held a debate in which many recalled the courage of Belza- Marveling at the unexpected assistance the Bellakaze had ren- gar against the Mulkhêrians. What would Belzagar’s generation dered at Pelargir and the long war along the Anduin, Elendil re- have done in this year of crisis and war? Finally, and secretly, the ceived them as friends. Then, to Elendil’s greater surprise, Za- Bâitha decided to aid the enemies of Sauron, now gathering in the garthôr asked to be placed under his command in the coming bat- north under that great and grim title: the Last Alliance of Elves tle. Pleased at the humility of such a powerful ally, Elendil quickly and Men. accepted his offer. But Zagarthôr said: “Lord of Andúnië, by this In 3429 the league dispatched a fleet and army under the com- proof you shall know that not all Adûnâi of the Southlands have mand of Zagarthôr, asapthubêth of Nîlûlôni and descendant of Bel- fallen under the Shadow. But know this too, Captain of the Faith- zagar, to the aid of Gondor. No hope remained of using harbors ful: as we have come freely to aid you, freely shall we return to or roads in Umbar and Haruzan, and the sorcery of the Dark our lands. You are lord of the Elendili, not of Bellakar.” Lord seemed to have closed all other paths north. Zagarthôr, Elendil graciously accepted this correction of his envoys’ pre- however, was a worthy successor to the great sea-captains of sumptuousness, addressing Zagarthôr of Nîlûlôni in the hearing Númenor. He took his ships north and westward across the deeps of all the allies as Macilion of Silmalondë, signifying by the use of of the sea, until men said that he was looking for the tower of Me- Quenya that the Bellakaranî were to be treated as Faithful, not neltarma to take counsel with the ghost of Tar-Aldarion. Then he descendants of the King’s Men. “Far be it from me to repay drove east on the brow of a fierce-blowing gale, riding into the proven friends with a tyranny more befitting the works of Ar- Bay of Belfalas ahead of the storm and slipping past dangerous Pharazôn,” the king said. “Let it be as you have said. But we did shoals and Umbarean warships at night, using an old Bellakaze not know, cast upon the shores of this Middle-earth, that there smuggler as pilot. were others who held true to the allegiance of our forefathers. Zagarthôr’s fleet made harbor in a small port of Lebennin, just Therefore we rejoice in your trust, and lay no claim of lordship short of the mouths of the mighty River Anduin, while Sauron’s upon the men of Bellakar, but only over those of the Westlands pursuing blockade squadrons fought the wind to hold themselves who have chosen to submit themselves to our authority.” off the muddy shoals of the Anduin delta. Seven days of swift Then Elendil removed from his finger a ring and set it in Za- movement brought Zagarthôr’s army to Pelargir itself, fifty garthôr’s hand, saying: “For the aid you have rendered for the leagues upriver. Few knew of his approach, for he came near to sake of the West, now and in battles to come, receive this token of outmarching the heralds of Gondor hurrying to bring word to our thanks. And if a day should come when the brood of Black Anárion the king. Pelargir, then the greatest of Gondor’s cities, Númenor rises again to trouble your people, your descendants was besieged on land and water by the hosts of the Nazgûl shall show this ring to mine and say: ‘Macilion of Silmalondë bids Adûnaphel and the armies of the brothers Fuinur and Herumor. you repay the debt of Elendil.’ Then they shall bleed for you as Sauron’s mists and darkness shrouded the battlefield, masking you have bled for us.” Zagarthôr clasped the ring tightly within the approach of the Bellakarian host. All who saw them appearing his fist, nodding assent to Elendil’s words. out of the gloom marveled, for they bore banners and armor of old The field of Dagorlad and the siege of Barad-dûr that followed Númenor, heirlooms of their vanished ancestors, and a light it claimed many lives, including Zagarthôr, who fell at Elendil’s shown around these that sorcery could not tarnish. Many thought side upon the slopes of Orodruin. At the conclusion of the war, that an army of ghosts had come out of the ancient West to the aid the Bellakarian army was much reduced. The Dark Lord was of its embattled heirs. 13 Other Hands vanquished and the Second Age had come to an end. The survi- confrontation of Bellakaranî against Tedjin, as the oasis it guarded vors only wanted to return home, but on their arrival they would was tributary to Nîlûlôni and the center of Bellakar’s desert trade. discover that the war had not yet ended. Bellakar was now threat- The invaders plundered and burnt the city with uncommon sav- ened by erstwhile allies of Mordor who had fled defeat in the agery, but despite this, the Tedjin met little resistance (except North, seeking easier prey. from Nîlûlôni), since the greater part of the league army was far away, still fighting Sauron in Mordor. THE FIRST TEDJIN INVASION The Tedjin made Khibil Êphalak one of their chief fortresses and went on to carve out a territory spanning the length of Bel- (TA 1-340) lakar, cutting off all land routes to Umbar and Haruzan as far as The new threat to Bellakar were the Tedjin, an Easterling peo- Dûsalan. The newcomers built several fortified towns, the greatest ple numbered among Sauron’s forces whose name meant of which was Thri Zirakan, the seat of their kataj or high chief- “Valorous in Battle.” Originating in the Kykurian steppe of cen- tain. Tedjin relations with Umbar were icy; with Bellakar they tral Endor in centuries past, the Tedjin had been defeated and were execrable. Plunder and rapine became the daily Tedjin fare. subjugated by the Variags of Khand. Since then they had occu- The return of what was left of the battle-hardened league army pied the strongholds of Lurmsakûn in Haradwaith as Variag vas- seven years later quickened the spirit of Bellakar’s defenders, but sals. But seeing the defeat of their masters on the field of Dagor- even with its help the Bellakaranî were unable to dislodge the lad, the Tedjin began to doubt their allegiance. As the last of Ûvatha’s soldiers were being fed into the charnel house of the siege of Barad-dûr, the surviving Tedjin made a break for freedom, setting off from Lurmsakûn south across the Dune Sea (the only path now open to them) in search of arable lands. The Tedjin horde struck Raj first, conquering a third of Bozisha- Miraz by surprise. How- ever, a few months later they were repulsed by the Bozishnarod. Rather than accept a new yoke of slavery, the Tedjin made alliance with their old enemies, the nomads of Haradwaith. They struck westwards, traversing the Dune Sea into northern Bellakar. There they overran the oases of the Hulja Mountains and the Bellakaze towns dispersed across the northern slopes of the highlands of Mardruak, reaching the sea by seizing the mercantile town of Dûsalan on the coastal frontier between Bellakar and Umbar. But their greatest success was the capture of Khibil Êpha- lak, the prosperous and strategic caravan town lying on the edge of the Dune Sea on the southern side of the Auz Bekar. The sack of Khibil Êphalak was the first

14 Realm of Bellakar Tedjin from their desert fastnesses or their new strongholds. clusion that Zimrêbal himself would be elected to perform the of- Narîk-zadan was lost to Bellakar completely, to emerge as a cen- fice. Zimrêbal fulfilled his new role admirably: Bellakarian forces ter of Tedjin culture and power in later years. For decades and were reorganized into an effective fighting machine, the Tedjin centuries the Kadîr would suffer repeated attacks by Tedjin raid- were driven back, peace and prosperity were restored to the cities. ers, and on two occasions major (and, fortunately for the Bel- Yet all was done in such a way that the preservation of law and lakaze, unsuccessful) offensives were launched against Nîlûlôni in order now depended upon the personal influence and resources of attempts by ambitious katajan to seize control of the coastal cara- Zimrêbal. van routes. In the end, Zimrêbal never did restore power to the Bâitha, The depredations of the Tedjin, combined with the loss of maintaining that the crisis which he had been appointed to redress nearly half the league army in the Last Alliance, reversed all the had not yet ended. In order to normalize this state of affairs, Zim- gains of the first century after the Downfall. It was as if Númenor rêbal felt he must legitimize himself by a higher authority. His so- had fallen again, only now with little hope for rebuilding the for- lution was to transform the religious traditions of the Bellakaranî tunes of its colonies. As decades and generations passed, the so that they would undergird the monarchic rule of the Tumakveh Bâitha became less and less effective, due to its shrinking re- clan. sources and manpower; the Kadîr turned inward, looking to their Bozishnara cults had been prevalent among the Bellakaze from individual survival in a harsh world. After four centuries of de- early times, in particular those of Ladnoca the Moon and of Najm, cline, many of the Bellakaranî regarded the league as a failure, Lord of the Sea. In fact, Zimrêbal’s own city of Nîlûlôni (Ad. and began searching for a new source of order. “Haven of the Moon”) marked the traditional site of Ladnoca’s birth and so had been an important pilgrimage destination from THE END OF THE LEAGUE time immemorial. Zimrêbal intended to exploit this religious di- (TA 340) mension to its fullest in his attempt to forge a more enduring unity among the Bellakaze and Adûnaic halves of his nascent kingdom. Throughout this time of troubles, Nîlûlôni remained relatively One of Zimrêbal’s first acts was to change the name of his capi- stable and prosperous. Having twice repulsed Tedjin efforts to tal to Nîlûlondê, a blending of its Adûnaic name with Quenya Sil- dominate traffic along the Batân an-Sakal, its commercial and po- malondë, thus recalling Elendil’s honoring of Zagarthôr in the Last litical ties with the Dar assured it preeminence among the Kadîr. Alliance. By this subtle modification of the traditional usage, Zim- Its wealth enabled it to hire a sizable mercenary army (mostly rêbal yoked the Southron religious associations of the site with the composed of Bellanarod, Aukuag and Bozishnarod) to supple- tale of how the progenitor of the Elendili acknowledged Bellakar ment its urban levy, and often it would come to the military assis- as a realm of the Faithful, preservers of authentic Dúnadan tradi- tance of neighboring cities without consulting the Bâitha, thus en- tion. hancing its individual prestige to the detriment of the increasingly Another concession to native tradition was to apply Bellakaze ineffectual league. month names to the calendrical system of the King’s Reckoning. Power was further consolidated through hereditary control of This enabled Bellakarian religious festivals to coincide with the the city’s government by the descendants of Belzagar and Za- cycle and rhythm of the Númenórean year. It also served as a garthôr, whose heroism in the Korlean war and Last Alliance rec- symbolic gesture of the Tumakveh’s respect for the Bozishnara ommended their house to Bellakaze, Bellanar, Bozishnar and pantheon. Adûnâ alike. With the decline of Dúnadan bloodlines and the increasing importance of ties with Raj, the "native" element in the THE TUMAKVEH CALENDAR makeup of the Tumakveh (the ancient name of the clan through which the lords of Nîlûlôni traced their Bellakaze descent) achieved greater prominence, though they never downplayed their SINDARIN BELLAKAZE Adûnaic heritage. The entrenchment of this family’s influence Narwain Dahlat over Bellakarian affairs, combined with the weakening of the N nui Najam Bâitha, eventually tempted one of the Tumakveh to make a bid for Gwaeron Manjaz monarchic power. Gwirith Vetrashu In 340, fifteen years after the second failed attempt by the Ted- Lothron Ishat jin to take Nîlûlôni, Zimrêbal Ironhand, the lord of that city, sum- N rui Vatrul moned an emergency session of the Bâitha. Recent engagements Cerveth Mizir against the Tedjin by league forces had resulted in a series of igno- Urui Kuralid minious Bellakarian defeats, and rumors of Tedjin preparations Ivanneth Darat for another major assault on the Kadîr were running like wildfire Narbeleth Tamum along the Batân an-Sakal. Hithui Sumat Effective resistance could only be mounted, Zimrêbal con- Girithron Oluj tended, if the defense of the country were placed under the com- But Zimrêbal’s boldest religious innovation was to integrate mand of a general with dictatorial powers to coordinate the disor- Ladnoca into the monotheistic worship of Eru, thus setting indige- ganized league forces with the urban militias. Limitations on the nous cultus on a par with the Númenórean. The observance of duration and scope of this general’s command would only play Númenórean religion had always been dependent upon the exis- into the hands of the enemy. Victory over the Tedjin could only be tence of a rightful monarch, since it was believed that only the assured by investiture of the officeholder with unlimited authority. king could perform the priestly role of mediating between the peo- Once the invaders had been decisively vanquished and the affairs ple and the One. Because the line of Elros had always dwelt in of the Kadîr set in order, the general would lay down his powers Númenor in the shadow of the Meneltarma, the sole legitimate and restore them to the Bâitha. place of worship, the spiritual life of the colonists in Middle-earth So Zimrêbal urged. Given the number of his personal support- had been confined mainly to observing the holy days of the liturgi- ers in the Bâitha (both genuine and “bought”), it was no surprise cal calendar. that his resolution was adopted, and it was all but a foregone con-

15 Other Hands Zimrêbal greatly expanded this conservative order of worship leading proponent of the movement, pressed the king for official by emulating the tradition established in the Westlands by Elendil recognition of Ladnoca’s equality with Eru. The motion precipi- and his sons. Just as the Elendili had named a new hallow upon tated an uproar within the Bâitha, the Adûnaic traditionalists of- Mount Mindolluin, so too Zimrêbal chose an eminence near to his fended by what they regarded as outright blasphemy, the Ladno- capital of Nîlûlondê, which he named Izindutârik, the Pillar of cans incensed at the implied slight to their goddess and to their Truth, as a fane for the worship of Eru, ascending it on the holy culture in general. Debate soon broke down into mutual anathe- days to offer prayer. It was at the time of the summer equinox that matizing and zealous threats. The Bâitha disbanded, each faction Eru and Ladnoca were invoked together in thanksgiving for the publicizing the event in the most incendiary of terms. first-fruits. The king, faced with the prospect of religiously-inspired vio- Zimrêbal dubbed this syncretistic brand of Eru-worship the lence, issued a swift and decisive decree to diffuse the crisis. Once Kâthasaptha, an Adûnaic approximation of “Infinite Wisdom,” the again showing his genius for effecting social harmony through re- classical Bozishnara concept of cosmic order. Under Tumakveh ligious innovation, Zimrêbal reported a new dream-oracle which auspices, “Kâthasaptha” came to be used as an epithet of Eru. But the goddess had conferred upon him. Desirous that the Bel- it never became a circumlocution for the Divine Name. Unlike the lakaranî should live at peace with one another, Ladnoca com- Faithful of the Westlands, the Tumakveh were not so guarded manded her devotees to abstain from altering the order of worship with their evocation of the One; indeed, Êru would become a fre- which she had instituted through the Tumakveh. However, not quent element in Tumakveh names (e.g., Êruzagar “Sword of wishing to dissuade the promptings of their devotion to her, the God,” Êruhil “Follower of God,” Êruzîr “Friend of God,” Êruzôr goddess bade them bestow these honors instead upon her twin sis- “Obedient to God”). ter, Ishtra. For Ishtra, she revealed, was the source of her creative But the critical nexus of cult and monarchy was encapsulated in power, and so it was fitting that Ladnoca be venerated through Ûrê’n Avalê, the Day of Revival, which Zimrêbal added to the her. traditional cycle of festivals. This new holy day commemorated a As yet, Ishtra, the Bozishnara goddess of love, had no cult cen- dream visitation by Ladnoca to Zimrêbal, wherein the goddess inter in Bellakar. To rectify this situation, and to keep her separate structed him concerning a restoration of the ancient Númenórean from the Eru-Ladnoca worship, Zimrêbal declared the goddess’ worship to be presided over by him and his descendants. Ladnoca will: a shrine to Ishtra should be established at Zimra-zadan, be- had made Zimrêbal king of Bellakar. Who was he to resist the cause of the piety of its citizens and because it lay upon the banks command of the goddess? of the Sîres, the same river that gave life to the oasis of Nîlûlondê. In token of this honor, Zimra-zadan would change its name to Es- THE REIGN OF ZIMRÊBAL mer, the Bozishnara name for the morning star (with which Ishtra (TA 340-395) was identified). This solution satisfied the majority. It provided an acceptable The Bâitha’n-Kadîr continued to exist in name, but its powers focus for Bellakaze, Bellanara and neighboring Bozishnara piety, were curtailed (just as they had been under Tar-Ciryatan) and its while at the same time removing a source of contention from the freedom subordinated to the will of the Tumakveh dynasty. But Kâthasaptha. Nevertheless, the king took great care to placate his although Zimrêbal had successfully established a kingdom, he and Adûnaic subjects by banning Ishtra’s worship in the other cities of his successors would now have to struggle to maintain it. In 360 his realm (though, naturally, he did not phrase it in those terms; and 375 respectively, Zimrêbal liberated Hazaj Tollin and Narîk- instead, he reported Ladnoca’s pronouncement that Esmer alone zadan from Tedjin rule in a series of dramatic military engage- was worthy of the honor—Zimrêbal was playing the old ments followed by shrewd negotiations with the kataj. Some Ted- Númenórean game of holding the cities in check by competition jin towns remained, others were razed; but Zimrêbal failed to dis- for prestige). lodge the Easterlings from their capital of Thri Zirakan, so that it continued to menace the realm. THE TUMAKVEH SUCCESSION A more serious threat to the integrity of Zimrêbal’s achievements came not from the barbarian invader but from his own peo- (TA 395-540) ple. Though it did not please everyone, the syncretism of the Zimrêbal passed the remaining years of his reign in peace. Kâthasaptha was a compromise most Bellakaranî could live with. Upon his death in 395, his son Abâruzôr ascended the throne only In time, however, the cult’s permutations of traditional religion led to be confronted with rebellion. Dâiruzôr, lord of Korlea, had to disruptive consequences. taken advantage of the king’s death to call for the end of Tumak- Over the years, the ritual association of Ladnoca with Eru at veh monarchy and a restoration of the Bâitha to power. The re- the Festival of First-fruits stimulated an elevation of the moon bels were concentrated mostly among the Adûnaic traditionalists goddess within popular Bellakaze piety as well as among sophisti- of Korlea, Balkuzôr and Ûrêzâyan, who longed for a return to the cated Bozishnara philosophers. Invoked alongside the "One" of old days of the league, and who were displeased with the pollution the Adûnâi, Ladnoca, already identified by the Bozishnarod as the of their religion by "heathen superstition," represented principally giver and preserver of their land, began to acquire the universalis- by the royal favor now shown to neighboring Esmer. tic role of creatrix, the divine source of life itself. Ladnoca was ab- Hazaj Tollin and Narîk-zadan, on the other hand, firmly sup- sorbing the attributes of Eru. ported the new king, and combined with the army of Esmer and For a long time this phenomenon was uncomfortably tolerated its Bozishnara allies, Abâruzôr defeated Dâiruzôr in battle after by those Bellakaranî who more consciously identified themselves only two campaigning seasons. Dâiruzôr was executed for trea- with their Adûnaic heritage. They wrote it off as a spontaneous son, but Korlea itself was magnanimously allowed to retain its as- and misguided, but ultimately harmless, expression of heathen er- apthubêth. Abâruzôr was anxious to undercut any further ror. One could hardly expect “Lesser Men” to comprehend theo- grounds for revolt. logical distinctions between the unbegotten power of the Creator Following the resolution of Dâiruzôr’s revolt, Abâruzôr reigned and the derivative angelic “Powers” of the world (Ladnoca usually for the most part in peace. No serious attempt to restore the free- being interpreted as a confused attempt to personify the attributes dom of the old league would again arise to challenge the Tumak- of Varda and Yavanna, misapplied to a trans-gendered Tilion). veh. Only one mishap marred his forty-eight year rule. In 405, a In 390, however, the asapthubêth of Zimra-zadan, himself a Tedjin assassination attempt on him was revealed and thwarted, a 16 Realm of Bellakar portentous reminder that their barbaric neighbors were not yet across the Dune Sea would once again be made safe. A new age of subdued. Bellakarian prosperity was about to begin. Still, the resurgence of the Tedjin was a long time in coming. But Urdubâr’s ambitions went well beyond his royal predeces- When Abâruzôr died in 443, passing on the throne to his son, Bel- sors’ efforts to restore domestic order. The new Tumakveh king phazân, most Bellakaranî had forgotten about the incident, their desired to elevate Bellakarian prestige among the survivors of minds focused more on lingering fears of another Korlean insur- Númenor: Anbalukkhôr, Khâradûnê, Zimrathâni, Umbar and, rection (which proved groundless). It was not until 515, after the most importantly, the Pelargirean league. reign of Belphazân’s son Imruzîr had seen nearly three decades of Since the defeat of Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance, the peace, that a “time of troubles” returned to Bellakar. power of the Ârûwanâi along the western coastlands had fallen In that year, Batou Jochë, kataj of the Tedjin, captured and into decline, their bloodlines swiftly dwindling or becoming razed Nîlûlondê in a surprise attack, forcing Imruzîr and his sub- merged with the Men of Middle-earth. This development held out jects to flee for their lives. Finding his realm on the verge of col- the prospect (or so Urdubâr hoped) of breaking down old enmi- lapse under a massive two-pronged Tedjin invasion, the aging but ties and building new ties of friendship and interstate cooperation. still vigorous king quickly prepared for the defense of Bellakar, Confident that the descendants of the Ârûwanâi would acknowl- naming Hazaj Tollin and Korlea his northern and southern war- edge the sins of their forefathers and abandon whatever vestiges time capitals. In the meantime, Batou Jochë captured much of still remained of Mulkhêrite ways, Urdubâr believed they would northern Bellakar. share the Tumakveh vision of a restoration of "authentic" The Bellakaranî countered the barbarian advance swifter than Númenórean tradition coupled with a harmonious embrace of na- the kataj anticipated, being well-served by Tumakveh reorganiza- tive cult and custom. Bellakarian experience would become the tion of the old league forces. But the Tedjin too had become a model for survival and prosperity in a changed world, and Ur- more efficient war-host through their experience of the past five dubâr would reap the glory and gratitude attendant upon it. centuries in Bellakar, and were not so easily repulsed. It took Im- Urdubâr’s exuberant optimism met with some success. Bellakar ruzîr ten years of hard fighting to turn the tables. Only in 525 controlled the gateway to the Bay of Tulwang, the central avenue could the reconquest of the north begin, and even then the Tedjin of trade between Bozisha-Miraz and realms further south. Friend- resistance was resolute, drawing out the conflict for yet another ship with the Tumakveh, committed as they were to the preserva- decade. tion of Adûnaic culture, would bolster the flagging economic and In 533, the Tedjin cause received a morale boost when Prince political fortunes of the surviving Ârûwanâ aristocracies. Zadunzîr, Imruzîr’s heir, died in battle with their kataj. Once Tumakveh overtures to Umbar had less dramatic impact. again, however, the Tumakveh showed their quality in adversity. Though suffering from Tedjin disruption of inland trade, Umbar In that same year, Urdubâr, the stripling grandson of Imruzîr, remained the strongest haven of the King’s Men in Middle-earth took up the rule of his father and command of the Bellakarian and had powerful allies among the Haruze. Like Bellakar, Umbar host. Born into an age of war, supposedly on the back of a horse had been wracked by civil war at the time of Númenor’s Down- as his mother fled the flames of Nîlûlondê, Urdubâr had grown up fall, resulting in the defeat of Mulkhêrite extremists and the de- at his father’s side on the battlefield, and his brilliance as a captain struction of their temple; unlike the Bellakaranî, the underlying of men was soon to be unquestioned. ideology and arrogance of the Ârûwanâi continued to be the domi- At the time of Imruzîr’s death, only the Tedjin capital of Thri nant element of Umbarean society even after the Last Alliance, Zirakan continued to vehemently resist the authority of the Tu- and anything smacking of Elendilian attitudes was regarded by makveh, its inhabitants refusing any negotiation or compromise, them with suspicion and hostility. Relations with the Tumakveh preferring honorable death to a life of cowardice. After five years therefore remained cool, and were confined to limited agreements of desperate defense, Urdubâr and the Bellakarian army laid siege to maintain the caravan routes. to the town. An extremely difficult siege followed, aggressiveness Urdubâr’s most successful diplomatic adventure was realized by and the will to fight unwavering in either camp. Even had they the visit of his grandson, Prince Êruzôr, to Gondor, particularly to been given an opportunity to escape the capture of their city, it is the Gondorian cities of the old Pelargirean league that dotted the probable that Tedjin honor or love of battle would have dictated northern coastline of Belfalas Bay: Annúlond, Lond Galen, Dol that they fight until death. Amroth, Methir and Pelargir itself. The ships and merchants of After six long, bloody months, on the 22nd day of Darat in 540, these cities had sailed to Bellakar, told tales of Zagarthôr’s daring Batou Jochë was slain and Thri Zirakan fell into the hands of the voyage to Gondor in the War of the Last Alliance, and the Gon- Bellakaranî, who plundered and massacred its Tedjin inhabitants, dorians welcomed Bellakar’s mariners as friends. allowing only a small number to survive as bondsmen to the king. Although their language and customs differed, the Faithful Thri Zirakan thereafter became a stronghold of the Tumakveh shared much in common with the Men of Bellakar. Both looked to and was renamed Zimrênzil in commemoration of the day of vic- the distant past of Númenor for their moral inspiration, to kings tory, which was incorporated into the royal calendar as a feast and rulers wise and honorable in deed as well as in word. The Bel- day. So ended the Tedjin threat. lakaranî had accommodated themselves to the hegemony of kings as had the Gondorians to the rule of the Line of Anárion. A pre- THE GOLDEN AGE eminent ground for mutual understanding was the fact that both (TA 540-748) lived under the rule of law, rather than the fiat of tyrants or corrupt oligarchies. Both stood, at least in principle, for peaceful Having weathered insurrection from within and invasion from travel, commerce and free use of the sea-lanes of western Endor. without, Tumakveh rule was no longer challenged. In commemo- If the Gondorians were overly proud of their Dúnadan bloodlines, ration of his heroic achievements, Urdubâr added to his name the if the Bellakaranî denied the Bellanara peasantry a say in the rule title of Arud Tumakveh, which signifies “Tumakveh the Victor” in of their realm, at least both lived in societies without slaves or the tongue of the Bellakaze, and in 543 rebuilt and fortified serfs, where Men could walk the streets unarmed and all could Nîlûlondê as the capital of his realm. In that same year he also re- speak good or ill of their day and their station in life. settled the oasis of Khibil Êphalak with veterans of the war, sig- The only unambiguous failure of Tumakveh diplomacy came, naling to eager Bozishnara merchants that the caravan routes rather unexpectedly, when Êruzôr journeyed to the court of the

17 Other Hands Gondorian king at Osgiliath on Anduin. Turambar, the sixth THE RISE OF THE SHIP-KINGS monarch to wear the Winged Crown of the South-kingdom since (TA 748-795) Meneldil son of Anárion, extended to the prince the courtesies of a noble guest, but would not offer him the hand of fellowship. He By the early 8th century of the Third Age, the Gondorians were did not, King Turambar said, question the goodwill of the Bel- beginning to experience the same tensions that had already lakaranî. His misgivings came, rather, from reports that had wracked the Ârûwanâi of Umbar and the Southlands. Erosion of reached him concerning the manner of divine worship the Tumak- Númenórean bloodlines made the traditional exclusivity of the veh had instituted in Bellakar. This seemed to Turambar a delib- Dúnedain more and more precarious. The havens of the Anfalas erate mockery of the rituals that the Line of Anárion practiced in in particular began to vie with one another for the loyalties of an affirmation of their right to rule in the lands of the Faithful. increasingly mixed populace, precipitating violent conflict within “There is but one fane wherein the invocation of Eru Ilúvatar and between league communities. The Pelargirean league, long may lawfully be voiced on behalf of the Dúnedain,” declared the closely held domain of Dúnadan traditionalists and racial pur- Turambar, “one kingly line to whom that authority has been ists, had nothing they could concede to the restless commoners of granted. The hallow of Mindolluin stands in the land of Gondor, Anfalas, and no precedent or will to suppress them. not in Bellakar. By the grace of the Valar the sons of Elendil were Not long after assuming the Winged Crown in 748, the new appointed to offer prayers and supplications on behalf of the king of Gondor, Siriondil, appointed his son Tarannon “Captain Faithful, and we have not heard that our forefathers—not even of the Hosts” and commanded him to restore order to Anfalas. Af- the King’s Men of Ar-Pharazôn—ever dared to profane the wor- ter four years of disputation, bullying and fighting, Tarannon sub- ship of the One with Southron blasphemies. Therefore say this to jugated the anarchic coastlands. He had revealed the corruption your grandfather: If Urdubâr would have the friendship of Gon- and weakness of the old forms of government and, in 754, dor, let him take counsel with himself, and remember who and Siriondil decreed the dissolution of the Pelargirean league, bring- what he is.” ing its territories under direct royal rule as provinces of Gondor. Elsewhere on the journey, questions Gondorians felt about the In the chaotic years leading up to this event, many of the fac- worthiness of the Bellakaranî as allies or the legitimacy of their tions among the independently-minded league-cities had turned to lineage had been muted in the interests of trade and diplomacy, Arnor, Bellakar and even Umbar for aid. Nîlûhîn of Bellakar but Turambar was willful and little used to dealing with foreigners steered a cautious course through the turmoil, balancing his desire as equals. To his rebuke Êruzôr replied only: “Do not forget that to cultivate good relations with trading partners while taking care our forefathers were at your side and not against you during the not to antagonize the Gondorian king. He saw, in any event, that Last Alliance, and that Zagarthôr was at his own request placed the crisis afflicting Gondor was the same one—between Adûnâi under command of Elendil, Lord of the Faithful. The siege of Pe- and Bellakaze—as had tormented his own land a thousand years largir was lifted with the arrival of our host, and our forefathers previous. The traditionalists fighting to keep control of the Pelar- fought beside you upon Dagorlad against the Shadow. We are not girean league would have stood against the Tumakveh in the dis- Ârûwanâi, and do not desire to be associated with their blasphe- tant quarrel. In the end, Nîlûhîn kept his own counsel. When the mies against the One. We have always maintained true allegiance struggle had been decided in favor of the “mixed-blooded” of to the One, not to the King’s Men.” Gondor and their king, Nîlûhîn felt it politick to make some ges- The words of Turambar troubled Urdubâr and soured relations ture of goodwill towards the rising power in Belfalas Bay. between their realms. However, Turambar was devoted to peace, Intent on avoiding a repetition of Urdubâr’s failed embassy, and wished ill to no man, least of all his own ship-builders and Nîlûhîn wisely refrained from any talk of formal alliance between merchant alliances. Trade treaties were signed, and agreements to the two realms. Instead, he sent his young son Narkuzîr to be a share letters of mutual interest concerning the lords of Umbar. companion of Tarannon in his travels. This posture suited But there was no formal alliance with Gondor. Siriondil’s sense of propriety, and he received Narkuzîr into his Though they wished to keep bonds of friendship with the Bel- court, calling him by the Quenya form of his name: Thorondil. lakaranî, the Faithful held in reverence the heirs of Elendil. They Whatever his attitude towards Tumakveh religious practice, the regarded it as perilous to set at naught their judgement in matters Gondorian king was foresighted enough to realize that his realm’s of the spirit, deeming them to be true diviners of the will of Eru growing rivalry with Umbar might come to crisis in his reign, in and the invisible Powers. But the Tumakveh found no fault with which conflict the goodwill of Bellakar might prove strategically the deeds of Zimrêbal their forefather, and to them the words of valuable. Both monarchs hoped that a close relationship between Turambar sounded proud and self-centered. In the end, Gondor their sons would at least hold out the promise of friendlier ties be- was a distant land, and the rulers of Bellakar could afford to ig- tween their realms in the future. nore the arrogant pronouncements of its king. The match was successful. A strong friendship was soon born For the next two centuries the golden age of Bellakar proceeded between the two princes as the Captain of the Hosts turned his at- uninterrupted. All told, Urdubâr ruled his realm in peace for tention to the reordering of the Haruze principalities between the ninety-three years, the longest reign of all the Tumakveh. That Poros and Harnen. In addition to his good looks and personable line continued for generations in prosperity and relative peace. nature, Narkuzîr proved to be a great diplomatic asset to It was in the days of King Nîlûhîn of Bellakar that the kings of Tarannon, familiar as the Tumakveh heir was with the languages Gondor began to extend their sway southward in Haruzan and and customs of Harad. But the court of Osgiliath in the days of its the coastlands of Belfalas Bay, which brought the heirs of Elendil splendor left a deep impression upon Narkuzîr in turn, and from into conflict with Umbar. This was a realignment of power the this came a seed of dissension that would herald the end of the Bellakaranî could not afford to ignore. Their relations with Um- golden age of Tumakveh rule. bar had never been cordial, but they had fought no overt wars ei- In the course of his sojourn in Gondor, Narkuzîr came to revere ther. Conflict between Gondor and Umbar would have significant the traditions of the Elendili, especially the form and fashion of consequences for trade by both land and sea. their religious observances, becoming convinced that in these lay the ultimate cause for the success that seemed to attend every Gondorian undertaking. Embracing this belief, Narkuzîr felt that

18 Realm of Bellakar the worship of his own land had indeed strayed from the true and NARKUZÎR’S REFORM unadulterated faith preserved by the line of Meneldil, and he con- (TA 795-830) ceived of one day restoring this pure religion to Bellakar. For many years Narkuzîr kept such thoughts to himself, pondering by Having segregated Eru from the Bozishnara cults, the zealous what means he might purge the Kâthasaptha of its heathen accre- Tumakveh now renounced his family’s claim to preside over the tions and bind it to the ceremonial of the Faithful. worship of the One, acknowledging this to be the unique preroga- Narkuzîr spent almost four years at Tarannon’s side, and re- tive of Elendil’s heirs. Bellakarian reverence for Eru would hence- turned to Gondor often over the next two decades, but in 795 forth be restricted to the ancient “standing silence” which their word came to him in Osgiliath that Nîlûhîn his father had died, Númenórean forebears had observed on holy days while the Me- neltarma still stood. In order to prevent the Izindutârik from ever and that he must now take up the kingship of Bellakar. So vying with Mindolluin in Gondor, the king forbade any to ascend Narkuzîr parted company with the son of Siriondil for the last it. In recognition of this act of repentance, the kings of Gondor, time, but not before revealing to his friend his ideas concerning now joined by marriage to the Tumakveh house, would intercede the reform of Bellakarian worship and his hope of lasting alliance for the Bellakaranî upon Mindolluin, admitting them into the fel- between their two realms. Perceiving Narkuzîr’s sincerity, lowship of the Elendili. Tarannon promised his friend that he would do all within his In the eyes of many Bellakaranî —Bellakaze and Adûnâi power to help him realize his vision when Tarannon inherited the alike—Narkuzîr had gone too far. Whatever respect their king Winged Crown. had built up in the years following the Ishtra incident now evapo- Narkuzîr ruled Bellakar as king for over half a century before rated. Gondorian recognition of Bellakar as a realm of the Faith- that day came. During those years, he continued to keep secret his ful, equal in prestige and honor with Gondor and Arnor, had been religious designs, essaying only one change in the order of wor- a long-coveted goal of many in Bellakar—particularly among the ship. Unable to tolerate the utterance of Ladnoca’s name along- merchants and Adûnaic nobility; but not at the price of their an- side the One, Narkuzîr banned her invocation upon the Izin- cestral religion. To the majority of his subjects, Narkuzîr’s over- dutârik. Unfortunately for the young king, he did not share the re- ture smacked of servility towards Elendilian arrogance and irrev- ligious sensitivity of his forefather Zimrêbal, nor the cunning to erence for the time-hallowed traditions established by the Tumak- deflect potential opposition. No dream-vision from the goddess veh. Their king’s “elevation” of Ladnoca had been mere pretense, was proclaimed to legitimize the king’s actions in the eyes of his a smokescreen to abandon his native heritage and please his idol- Bellakaze subjects, and the public reaction was correspondingly ized boyhood companion. virulent. Unlike his earlier misadventure in religious politics, however, The first year of Narkuzîr’s rule might have ended in violent re- this time Narkuzîr had prepared. He had full control over the Bel- bellion had not his younger and more practical-minded brother, lakarian government, army and fleet. He was at peace with Artârik, interceded to salvage the situation. Putting a positive spin Bozisha-Miraz and the Thânî Hazad. Umbar was no longer on Narkuzîr’s decree, Artârik explained that Ladnoca’s removal friendly with Bellakar, but Tarannon of Gondor, now Narkuzîr’s from the Festival of First-fruits was only intended to enhance her kinsman, served as a counterbalance to any threat Umbar might standing. Out of his devotion to the goddess, the king was pre- pose. The good will of the richest nation in western Endor was not pared to reunite Ladnoca with her sister by allowing a shrine of something any leader would squander. But, in 830, the matter had Ishtra to be added to Ladnoca’s temple in Nîlûlondê. There the not yet come to the edge of the sword, as the saying went. The goddesses would receive cult together, unsubordinated to the knowledge of Narkuzîr’s prowess as a king and captain counseled Númenórean deity. In token of the goddesses’ elevation, Artârik caution in the hearts of his opponents. added, both the king and his brother would take wives from Chief among the opposition was Narkuzîr’s brother, Artârik, among the Zadan an-Aranî, a prominent Esmerian family of who was convinced that the terms of the reform spelled the down- Adûnaic origin whose scions, over the centuries, had wholly em- fall of their family. When it became plain that no reconciliation braced the cult of Ishtra. could be achieved, Artârik left his brother’s side, enduring a self- Little of this was to Narkuzîr’s liking; but faced with the pros- imposed exile in Esmer among his Aranî kinsfolk. Alienated as he pect of insurrection, the king acceded to his brother’s counsel. was, though, Artârik refused all invitations by Narkuzîr’s enemies Small love was there between Narkuzîr and his queen, Zâirinzil to supplant his brother. Artârik had not forgotten the Tedjin. an-Aranî; but because their union was now essential to the stabil- They lived peacefully among the Bellakaranî solely because they ity of his realm, the king endured her. Only their daughter, had been beaten in battle those many years ago, and he rightly Barûthhîn, was Narkuzîr resolved not to allow to become guessed that any outbreak of civil war in Bellakar would encour- “corrupted” by Bozishnara religious ways, and he forbade her age an uprising along the desert frontier. mother to impart to their child any doctrine save the worship of Less scrupulous in opposition to the king’s reform was his wife, Eru. Zâirinzil. To her, Narkuzîr’s actions were a total betrayal of his Zâirinzil’s piety and a mother’s love prevailed over the king’s people and his own daughter, “sacrificed” in payment for the command. In secret, Zâirinzil inculcated her daughter in the wor- friendship of strangers whose lips profaned the name of the god- ship of Ishtra, telling Barûthhîn that Eru was but a name that men dess. Secretly Zâirinzil forged ties with any who declared enmity used to distort the workings of the goddess and usurp her glory. towards her husband, and plotted to break the alliance with Gon- Barûthhîn grew wise in the teachings of her mother, and a mysti- dor so that Barûthhîn might be restored to her. Who can say what cal bond grew between them that not even the king could break. dark and infernal powers may have hearkened to the queen’s prayers in her desperation? Narkuzîr, however, made no indication that he planned any further tampering with the religious impasse that had been reached, until his boyhood friend Tarannon succeeded the rule of his father THE CHILDLESS KING in the name of Falastur in 830. In that year, much to the dismay of (TA 830-840) daughter and mother alike, Narkuzîr announced Barûthhîn’s be- Though pleasing to the Gondorians and their king, the new- trothal to the king of Gondor and, through this marriage, his plans found alliance with Bellakar did not entirely elude obstacles cast to purify the worship of Eru. in its path, the greatest of which was Tarannon’s queen, Barûth- hîn, her name now partly Sindarized in form to Berúthiel. Like her mother, Berúthiel felt betrayed, though at first she played the du- 19 Other Hands tiful daughter, bending to her father’s will for the sake of the ment sown in the years of Narkuzîr’s reform still germinated in realm. In time, though, the burden of her people’s sorrows and the variegated soil of Bellakar, awaiting an hour ripe for yet an- her own devotion to Ishtra overthrew all claims of duty. other upheaval. Life in strange land, far from kith and kin, was difficult for the The self-proclaimed inheritor of this renewed outbreak of spiri- Tumakveh princess, and attempts to share her customs and beliefs tual discontent was Imrathôr Izindubêth. A Bellakaze merchant of were met with universal ridicule and condescension by the Faith- modest means from Narîk-zadan, Imrathôr became the leader of a ful. Soon all love had died within the heart that had embraced the new religious movement that offered yet another solution to the goddess of love. Increasingly estranged from her husband and his age-old problem of reconciling the Bozishnara pantheon and its court, Berúthiel withdrew from public life. Vicious rumors began cults with the absolute monotheism of the Adûnâi. to circulate in Osgiliath that the reclusive queen was turning back to the “Black Númenórean” ways of her people. Some were even THE TRUE FAITH so bold as to accuse her of using sorcery to spy upon the Faithful (TA 842-884) for her own nefarious purposes, and that she would leave the line of Meneldil barren of an heir. At dawn on the 13th day of the month of Najam, in the third Whatever the truth or falsity of the tales that attached them- year of the reign of Artârik an-Aranî, it came to pass that Im- selves to Queen Berúthiel in those tragic years, this last charge rathôr, while pursuing his vocation in the bazaars of Hazaj Tollin, was certainly true. Tarannon’s queen bore him no children, mak- felt within his heart a mysterious summons to journey into the ing him the first childless king of his house. The causes of this foothills of the Hulja Mountains, many leagues distant from the were never revealed, but in the year 840, the tenth of their ill-fated city. Searching for he knew not what, Imrathôr found that his feet marriage, amid even more mysterious circumstances, Tarannon were leading him to the tall summit of Urud an-Khibil. On that si- set the daughter of Narkuzîr and Zâirinzil adrift on a ship, alone lent height, hidden from the eyes of Man, Imrathôr beheld a vi- on the sea before a north wind, and caused her name to be erased sion that was to change his life. from the Book of the Kings. The ultimate fate of Berúthiel is un- After many days of fasting and solitude in the wilderness, the known, but her expulsion from Gondor made one thing very merchant returned to Hazaj Tollin, proclaiming all that he had clear: the alliance was over. seen and heard. Imrathôr claimed to have received a visitation from the One: "The One whom the Adûnâi name Êru, whom the NARKUZÎR’S ABDICATION Tumakveh deem Infinite in Wisdom—this One has sent me to make known the Batân an-Izindi, the Path of Truth, to those who (TA 840-842) will listen." In token of this claim, Imrathôr took the title of Izin- By 840, the only thing capable of saving Narkuzîr’s reputation dubêth, the “Prophet of Truth.” in the eyes of his subjects was victory in war, and that is exactly These words caused a great stir in Hazaj Tollin, and report of what he got. Perhaps taking advantage of the unrest in Bellakar, them very soon spread to the other cities of the realm. Reactions an army of mercenaries from Bozisha-Miraz, the Qarsag, allied ranged from disbelief and speechless wonder to incensed outcry themselves with dissatisfied Tedjin and Aukuag clans and chose and accusations of blasphemy. Bellakarian religious sensitivities this moment to launch a raiding expedition into southern Bellakar. had been strained to the limit over the past decades, and most Narkuzîr was quick to mobilize available royal forces and the mi- were understandably hostile toward any hint of disruption of the litia of the Kadîr of the south against this new danger. Personally delicate balance that had been so dearly bought by their new king. commanding the right wing of the host, the king persuaded his Not surprisingly, Artârik an-Aranî felt the same way, and gave or- brother, Artârik, to forget his quarrel and assume control of the ders for this bold upstart to be brought before him. left. The opposing armies met on a barren thorn-prairie not far Soon, Imrathôr found himself standing in the presence of the from Nîlûlondê, where a caravan trail from the Auz Bekar came Tumakveh king at Nîlûlondê. Long and searchingly Artârik ques- down from the hills. The battle was hard fought, but with tioned him concerning his summons and vision, essaying to un- Narkuzîr’s tactical acumen the Qarsag were beaten and scattered. mask him if he were a fraud, and to discern, if he might, how this The victory would have been fleeting for the king, however, in teaching might bode for the peace of the realm. A true descendant the wake of the failure of his alliance with Gondor. Whether of Zimrêbal, Artârik an-Aranî was no fool: for him, piety must al- Narkuzîr maintained his personal convictions or had suffered a ways be tempered by political necessity. loss of faith is not recorded, but he realized that his vision could But there was neither fear nor guile on the lips of Imrathôr as no longer be imposed on the people without grievous damage to he propounded to the king the divine message with which he his realm. To the amazement of all, within one week of the vic- claimed to have been entrusted. He declared the uniqueness of the tory, Narkuzîr announced his abdication in favor of his brother, One, saying that He alone created the universe through the Kôlir, since none of his own children or grandchildren commanded the the Powers whom the Men of the West called the Balâi. Through respect of the Bellakaze elite. Artârik an-Aranî consented to this the Kôlir Eru created Bellakar and all lands, but Man He created on the condition (not known to the public) that Narkuzîr remain without their mediation. Imrathôr went on to name the Kôlir, his unofficial counselor. identifying each of the Balâi with a Bozishnara deity. Artârik’s first act as king was to nullify his brother’s religious Thus far the Izindubêth had uttered nothing contrary to the tra- reform, restoring the traditional Kâthasaptha. He did not, how- ditional beliefs of the Bellakaranî nor against the Kâthasaptha. ever, rescind the ban on the invocation of Ladnoca on the Izin- But now Imrathôr gave cause for concern. “Because He is infinite dutârik (a concession, no doubt, to the small but still powerful and beyond comprehension,” explained the Izindubêth, “it is not party of Adûnaic traditionalists that had supported Narkuzîr’s re- fitting for ordinary mortals to worship Eru with words and rituals, forms, and perhaps also with a view to one day mending broken at times and places set by human wisdom, but only through silent ties with Gondor). contemplation of His greatness. Instead, Eru commands that Men The honor of the Tumakveh family had been preserved, its as- honor Him through offering cult to the Kôlir; for being the chil- cendancy once again enjoying virtually universal support from its dren of Eru, the Kôlir reveal aspects of the One to His creation.” subjects, though its international prestige was now thrown into “If what you say is true,” broke in the sagacious king, “do you question by Barûthhîn’s expulsion. But the seeds of religious fer- not take the goddess for a liar? Is it not by the command of Lad-

20 Realm of Bellakar noca that the Tumakveh invoke the One upon the Izindutârik at As the movement spread and its converts flocked to Urud an- the appointed times? How then shall we honor the Kôlir if we dis- Khibil, Imrathôr was increasingly besought as a judge and an ar- obey their statutes, or do the gods rebel against Him who made biter of disputes. The rulings of the Izindubêth on various mat- them?” ters, mundane and spiritual, were committed to writing by his fol- To this Imrathôr gave the following reply: “O King, whatever lowers, so that over the years a substantial body of ethical wisdom the Kôlir command of you must be obeyed. But all times and sea- and social norms came to be associated with the sect. A code of sons are at the beck and call of Êru, and to His will even the Kôlir honor developed that owed much to the values enshrined in the must bend. Once the goddess spoke to the Tumakveh, and gave to Kat Polojaz, the Bozishnara national epic, but which also contained them counsel for the perfection of their piety. But the people have significant innovations inspired by its peculiar blend of strayed from the path of truth, giving to Ladnoca and her sister Númenórean monotheism and philosophically interpreted Bel- what belongs to Êru alone. Nor have the Tumakveh escaped of- lakaze polytheism. fense; for in redressing this profanation, they have taught many to Chief among these innovations stood the principles of the spiri- abandon right worship of the Kôlir. tual equality of all peoples, Adûnâ and Southron alike, and an in- Hear then the will of Êru: For the sake of the piety of Ladnoca My ternalized ideal of spiritual peace. The first of these principles, daughter, the Tumakveh alone may continue to utter My name upon the while clearly influenced by early Númenórean theology, dispensed hallow of Izindutârik at the times she has appointed; but because of their with the racially-based moral hierarchies subscribed to even by sins, the Bellakaranî shall worship Me in silence only. And let no man the Elendili. The mystical concept of inner peace as a religious spurn the Kôlir or neglect their worship; for thus shall he honor My will.” goal, on the other hand, resonated with the creed of Esmerian The Izindubêth fell silent. The king too and all his court made goddess worship, though now “restored” to its proper referent: no answer. How could such words be countered without provok- Eru. ing the wrath either of the Adûnaic traditionalists or the devotees Nothing fires religious zeal more powerfully than persecution, of the goddess? For each agreed with a part of Imrathôr’s mes- and the followers of the Batân an-Izindi were about to receive just sage, though they rejected the rest. To openly denounce the Izin- such a spur to their resolve. Scarcely a generation after the sect dubêth would risk alienating both factions, whereas to attempt an had established itself, the Tedjin invaded Bellakar anew in vast accommodation to only those parts of his oracle that endorsed the numbers. In the conflagration that was to follow, the Izindubêth status quo would indict the king of duplicity—either he accepted would meet his death and the monastery on Urud an-Khibil the words of Imrathôr as a divine revelation, or he did not. Never would be destroyed. before had a Tumakveh been placed in so awkward a position. But Artârik an-Aranî rose to the occasion. To Imrathôr he an- THE CREED OF MEN swered with these words: “Êru did not make me His Izindubêth, (TA 830-884) only a king who honors the piety of his fathers. If by this I do th wrong in His eyes, He shall see fit to punish me. But whether By the 9 century of the Third Age, the Adûnâi of Umbar had your words be those of a true seer or no, time alone shall tell. Go lost much of the Númenórean identity which their counterparts in your way, and act according to the wisdom that has been given Bellakar had tried so carefully to maintain. The Umbareans had you. And if there be any on whom your words fall pleasingly, they preserved much lore of ships and the sea—more so than any other may join you; but I shall preserve the ways that have been handed Númenórean successor realm in Endor—but less of the traditions down to me by Ladnoca, and will suffer neither you or any who of law and culture that had kept Númenor strong in spite of its follow you to hinder those who abide by those ways.” long centuries of corruption and decay. Their common folk spoke All the court was amazed at the prudence of Artârik’s reply. a dialect of Westron, like the realms of the Faithful to the north, The Izindubêth, bowing, took his leave of the king. Free now of and their aristocracy classical Adûnaic, like the Ârûwanâ regimes royal interference, Imrathôr resumed his proclamation of the in the South. In personal appearance and lifespan most of them Batân an-Izindi, gathering followers throughout the cities and were, like the Bellakaranî, more of the Haradrim than of any countryside. The majority of the Bellakaranî remained unmoved other race. But though their blood and customs had been trans- by his message, being content with participation in the Kâthasap- formed by time and their intermarriage with the men of Endor, tha and its festivals. The sect initially found adherents among the they inherited without lessening their hatred for Gondor, an an- mercantile and intellectual classes, who by virtue of their itinerant cient enmity which the deeds of Tarannon Falastur had now re- lifestyle or philosophical reservations were less attached to the na- kindled. tional religion. Opposition was fiercest from Adûnaic and Ladno- Like Korlea in Bellakar, Umbar had been a stronghold for the can extremists, who found the new movement a convenient scape- cult of Mulkhêr in the days of Ar-Pharazôn; unlike the Mulkhêri- goat for their own frustrated programs. In time, however, as it be- ans of Korlea, those of Umbar survived Númenor’s Downfall and came clear that the Kâthasaptha would tolerate no further reli- continued to serve Sauron eagerly until his defeat by the Last Alli- gious changes, the purists began to lose popular support and ance. Many of these Black Númenóreans fell at Dagorlad and failed to replenish their numbers. The currents of spiritual dissent upon the walls of the Dark Tower, fighting to the last in their re- were now flowing into Imrathôr’s camp. ligiously-inspired fervor. After report of Sauron’s defeat reached Having carried his message to the far corners of Bellakar, the Umbar, those Ârûwanâi remaining in the haven and along the Sa- Izindubêth returned to the place of his summons and there, with kal an-Khâr (the coasts of the sea as far north as the mouth of the the aid of his followers, commenced construction of a monastery. River Khârurush) named new leaders for themselves. These lords The purpose of this complex was to provide a locus of pilgrimage succeeded in maintaining Umbar’s power for many lives of Men, for those seeking guidance in the Batân an-Izindi. Unlike the Izin- maintaining a wary peace with the realms of the Faithful and re- dutârik, the mountain of Imrathôr’s vision was not to become the building their trading empire in Haruzan and southward far along site of annual religious festivals “with words and rituals, at times the shores of Belegaer. and places set by human wisdom.” Nevertheless, the Izindubêth The utter vanquishment of Sauron, whom they had held to be allowed the month of Najam to become a ritualized period of fast- Mulkhêr’s representative on earth, caused many in Umbar to ing for adherents of the faith, in commemoration of the divine doubt and fall away from the worship of the Dark. For many summons. years the site of Mulkhêr’s terrible fane within the citadel of their

21 Other Hands haven lay unused and forlorn, and as the descendants of the defeat Gondor must also deal with the realm of Bellakar. Even King’s Men re-shaped their lives after the fashion of the nations of with the failure of the Tumakveh marriage alliance with Middle-earth, so too did the shadow of their ancient worship se- Tarannon, Bellakar was a serious strategic threat to Umbar’s con- cretly reassert itself in Haradon guise. trol of the sea-routes to southern Endor. Umbar had no means of By the 830s the Council of Captains in Umbar was divided in conquering Bellakar while Gondor was pressing upon its own thought over how best to maintain their power against Tarannon’s borders, so Zagarkhâd resolved to find a way to defeat the Tu- encroachments upon their northern frontier of Zâyan an- makveh by other means. Khârurush (now called by their Gondorian neighbors “Harnendor”). Some advocated open naval warfare, at least, in al- THE TEDJIN-QARSAG INVASION liance with the Haradon realms who shared their fears of the (TA 884) pride and strength of the heirs of Elendil. Others advised caution and diplomacy, for war with Gondor would ruin their oceanic In his travels, Zagarkhâd visited lower Khand and found there trade with the north and threaten the same to the south, where the two Tedjin clans, remnants of those who had remained loyal to Tumakveh had for many years been Umbar’s rival for control of Ûvatha during the Last Alliance and who were still employed as the sea-lanes. mercenaries by a shrunken Variag realm. They were well-armed, But one of the councilors—Zagarkhâd by name—looked to a staunch worshippers of the Shadow cults, and willing to take gold more primordial power for their salvation and final victory: the to join a war a thousand miles away. Lord of the Dark. The youngest of many sons fathered by one of With the core of an invading horde commissioned, Zagarkhâd the haven’s powerful nobles, Zagarkhâd had few prospects for ad- gathered some of their leaders and traveled secretly across the vancement in the highly competitive arena of Umbarean politics. Haradwaith, seeking out the discontented among the Tedjin of He turned instead to the quest for arcane knowledge, and upon Bellakar, as well as the impoverished Qarsag survivors. The Ted- that road he found others of similar mind, both in Umbar and jin had lived at the bottom rung of Bellakarian society for genera- among the Nuzhaj, a venerable order of Haruze scholars that had tions. When some of their desert clans had joined the Qarsag in- its roots in the Dark Years of the Second Age. vasion, the Bellakaze had driven thousands of them out of the cit- The Nuzhaj hearkened back to a time when the Haruze ruled ies as undesirables and the Bellanarod had burned thousands their own land, free from Númenórean tyranny. Some of them, a more out of their farms and villages. Here were recruits willing to secret society known as the Nunazhme, remembered that the Ha- listen to tales of ancient martial glory. Most, particularly those liv- ruze had once prospered as mighty allies of Sauron of Mordor. ing on the desert frontier, were still skilled warriors. Zagarkhâd From these scholars Zagarkhâd and his fellows learned forgotten provided leaders to train them in the old Tedjin worship of the tongues of lore that opened to them books and scrolls of lost wis- Dark Lord and the skills of professional soldiers. dom handed down in secret through many generations of Nuzhaj, In spite of the complexity of Zagarkhâd’s conspiracy, the Tu- and out of that dark wisdom was sprung in their minds a creed by makveh failed to get clear wind of it until it was too late. They had which Umbar might prevail over the Lord of the Coasts and his done too thorough a job of isolating the Tedjin villages; now they fleets: the Zâur an-Anî, the “Creed of Men,” which they would would pay the price. In 884, raiding parties struck across Bel- teach to the Adûnâi and make them strong again. lakar’s frontier from the desert of the Stone Fields in the north to Such was the name they gave to a shadowy legend preserved in the Auz Bekar and the Bozishnara border in the south. A hundred the shrouded tomes of the Nunazhme. It told of the origin of Men, Bellanara villages and dozens of guard posts on the inland roads of how they had at first been threatened by the Devourer in the were overrun in the first weeks of war, while cavalry patrols sent Dark, and of how the Lord of the Dark taught Men to subjugate to find the source of the terror vanished in clouds of bloody dust. the Devourer and make it their servant. They realized that this An aging Artârik an-Aranî quickly mobilized his army north of Dark Lord was none other than He whom Zagarkhâd’s Ârûwanâ Nîlûlondê, but the king’s well-worn tactics were too predictable. ancestors named Mulkhêr. But though the Ârûwanâi had wor- Report reached him that the captains of the Tedjin-Qarsag army shipped Him, they had failed. were commanded by a mysterious figure known as the Shrouded Why had they failed? The Nunazhme taught that the Poganin Tarb—Zagarkhâd disguised as a Haruze nobleman—who concen- (the “Heathen” or “Ungodly,” as the Haruze derisively called the trated the best of his horde of desert horsemen on better ground Númenóreans) were corrupters of Men, and that through their than the king’s. This first confrontation was a bloody defeat, de- own hubris they had destroyed themselves. Though right to ac- stroying the pick of the Tumakveh soldiery. Artârik himself might knowledge the Lord of the Dark, they had been led astray by have been killed, but his great-nephew, Êruzagar the Warmaker, their craven fear of Death, the Fate of Men, to make war on the led a company of heavy cavalry to his rescue, finally dragging the gods. Sauron, the Nunazhme believed, had set this temptation be- wounded monarch out from under the corpses of his bodyguard. fore the Poganin to test their worthiness. They failed the test. Êruzagar covered a retreat on Nîlûlondê. Here the king began to Now, the Advocates of the Zâur an-Anî taught their followers, gather a new army, drawing reinforcements from all southern Bel- the world was changing again. Now the sons of the Adûnâi had lakar and by sea from the ports of the north. been given a chance to show their worthiness to serve the Lord of The Shrouded Tarb had a better grasp of strategy than the Tu- the Dark, to defeat the Elendili of Gondor and dominate western makveh’s previous foes. Instead of marching directly on Middle-earth. They would teach the Zâur an-Anî secretly to all of Nîlûlondê, he scattered his forces to pillage and secure central and Umbar, and when their followers had seized control of the haven, northern Bellakar, collecting recruits and war material as they they would restore the temple of Mulkhêr to its former glory— conquered. Êruzagar led his horsemen in fast, vicious counter- nay, it would be greater in glory, just as they were greater than attacks along the Batân an-Sakal and warned the king that his the Dúnedain of Gondor and their worthless cousins in Arnor. enemies were gaining strength, while the Bellakaranî were trou- Then they would show the Elendili who were the true “Kings of bling to assemble a few last companies of militia around the capi- Men.” tal. Artârik took the criticism badly. When he finally felt ready to Zagarkhâd, almost alone among the Creed Advocates, pos- march, he deliberately left his valiant nephew behind to organize sessed a strong strategic sense. After four decades of open preach- the defense of the capital. ing and quiet subversion, he hit upon the idea that any attempt to

22 Realm of Bellakar The Tedjin gave way as the king marched north, but this retreat Foreseeing defeat, Êruzagar ordered his twenty-two year old had been arranged to give the Shrouded Tarb a chance to gather son Adûnuzîr to flee the city and seek refuge among their Bozish- his forces. Artârik finally found the main army of the Tedjin and nara allies on the Forest Coast. Adûnuzîr at first resisted his fa- Qarsag gathered on east bank the River Tosith, where it met a ther’s command, refusing to abandon his people to the invader. smaller stream and spread out in a vast grass and quicksand But Êruzagar rebuked him sternly, saying: “Obey my words! If marsh before breaching a line of hills to fall into the coastal plain you would blot out the disgrace of the Field of Black Death, you near Hazaj Tollin. Once again, the Shrouded Tarb had picked must forego your vengeance until the hour is right; for none who better ground than Artârik an-Aranî. On this dry upland, the Bel- fight within these walls shall live to see the dawn. But you are the lakaranî were forced to attack to get to good water and the nomad last of the Tumakveh. If you draw your sword this night, our army could use its mass of horse archers to best advantage. house shall come to an end and no hope will be left for our people. The largest armies ever gathered in Bellakar now hacked and Fly now, and avenge yourself another day!” slaughtered each other for most of a day in a killing summer heat. His words at an end, Êruzagar embraced his son for the last Artârik, lacking his nephew’s energy, failed to keep his captains in time and turned away to meet his fate. Wasting no time, lest Êru- check, and the Bellakarian line of battle fell apart in early after- zagar’s sacrifice should be in vain, Zimrathôr, loyal adviser to the noon. Joam-Tuv, the best soldier among the Tedjin chieftains, king and guardian of Adûnuzîr, hastened the young prince flanked the Bellakaranî and drove twice ten thousand of them through the palace, accompanied by a few guards, to a hidden es- westward into the Tosith marshes. The king and a company of cape tunnel known only to the Tumakveh and their most trusted men fought their way north through the center of the Tedjin counselors. Causing the entrance of the tunnel to be collapsed so masses, and a common Bellakaze soldier from Ûrêzâyan managed to put an arrow through the heart of the Shrouded Tarb. Then the that none could pursue them, Zimrathôr guided his royal charge Tedjin closed in; Artârik and his guard were brought to bay at the to the tunnel exit, near the edge of the oasis of Nîlûlondê, where foot of a cliff and fought to the death. fresh horses and provisions had been prepared for just such an In later years, Urud an-Ârû, the Cliff of the King, could be rec- eventuality. By the time their escape was discovered, the last heir ognized by travelers by the seal of Artârik an-Aranî engraved of the Tumakveh was well on his way to the safety of the Forest hastily on a rock face by a one of his heralds, just before the final Coast. Tedjin attack. A three-league stretch of ground along the River But the hour of Nîlûlondê’s doom had come. The Qarsag now Tosith came to be called Zâyan an-Agan, the Field of the Black held the walls, the Tedjin had broken through the palace gates. Death. The bones of the dead buried alongside the road tended to The Tumakveh king rallied the remnants of his elite guard for a poke out of the arid soil at intervals for centuries after, and pieces last, desperate counter-charge against the enemy’s ranks. In that of metal and other gear of war, strangely well-preserved, would grim onslaught Êruzagar slew two sons of Joam-Tuv and many wash out of the quicksand with every spring flood. others of their house before he was taken, alive, beneath a moun- This battlefield, the largest mass grave between Umbar and the Yellow Mountains, was not otherwise marked, but it retained a tain of Tedjin dead. The last of the palace defenders were butch- sinister feel about it even into the early Fourth Age. The ghosts of ered and the massacre of Nîlûlondê’s people began. The vengeful an entire generation of Bellakarian leaders were said to haunt the Tedjin showed little mercy to the Bellakaranî, remembering a Field of the Black Death. Many great families were destroyed three decades of affliction at their hands. The only ones to survive here and by the sacking of the cities of Bellakar that followed. The that night of unspeakable horror were those marked out for slav- families that replaced them were less wealthy, less confident, less ery by their new masters. of the Adûnâi than those who came before. When the kingdom Thus far the designs of the Shrouded Tarb had succeeded: the found renewal, it would be humbler and poorer, and many who Easterling allies of the Zâur an-Anî now occupied the capital of knew how much it had changed would come to the Cliff of the Bellakar, its other cities had all but succumbed to the invaders, King and speak to an ancestor, seeking their lost wisdom. and the lords of Umbar could now challenge the might of Gondor with both their southern and eastern frontiers secure. Yet the THE FALL OF NÎLÛLONDÊ Tedjin victory was not flawless: report reached Joam from Galkar (TA 884-889) that the son of Êruzagar was nowhere to be found. Furious, the With the death of Artârik, the only hope for the Tumakveh and victorious Tedjin general ordered the captive Tumakveh brought their supporters lay in the generalship of Êruzagar and the hill- before his “shadow-walkers” (as the Tedjin called their dark sha- forts surrounding the Vale of Nîlûlondê. Hastily confirmed in his mans). kingship, Êruzagar organized a masterful defense of his oasis These were not without sorcerous means for uncovering the capital against the Tedjin hosts. The siege of the vale lasted five hidden thoughts of their enemies. Êruzagar’s will was indomita- years, claiming the lives of thousands of Tedjin and Qarsag warri- ble, and would not yield to his captors the way or destination of ors. Unfortunately, within the walls of Nîlûlondê lurked a traitor. his son’s flight. But to Joam Êruzagar spoke these words: “Today This was Galkar, a Bellanara guard-captain and kinsman to the you have the victory, foul Tedjin, but you and your successors royal family who sought to bring about the fall of the Tumakveh shall not rule Bellakar forever. If your courage equaled that of in requital for a slight to honor which he had suffered at the hands your sons, you would meet me with a sword in my hand; instead, of Êruzagar. On a night of the dark moon, by pre-arrangement with the Ted- only in your cowardice do you dare to avenge them.” jin, Galkar murdered his guard company by poisoning their drink- To this the Tedjin answered: “A man may avenge himself only ing water. Joam-Tuv, champion of the Field of Black Death and upon other men; but you are a dog, ruler of a nation of dogs, wor- ever the most daring of the Tedjin, brought a large company into thy of a fate reserved for your own kind.” With that Joam-Tuv or- the oasis of Nîlûlondê on paths leading out from the desert wastes. dered his ravenous wolf-hounds unleashed upon the bound and Galkar opened the East Gate of the city to the enemy and Joam- wounded Tumakveh. So ended Êruzagar the Warmaker, grand- Tuv spearheaded the assault, making straight for the royal palace. son of Narkuzîr, not the least valiant of a valiant house.

23 Other Hands THE DEATH OF IMRATHÔR years—as many years and a day as the siege of Nîlûlondê, some (TA 889-894) said. Deprived of the use of their horses because of the terrain, the Tedjin were forced to become mountaineers, much inferior to The fall of Nîlûlondê to Joam-Tuv on 22 Tamun, 889 concluded Êruzîrôn’s nimble fighters, but always more numerous and always the Tedjin-Qarsag conquest of Bellakar, but it did not mark the replaceable. end of Bellakarian resistance. Cut off from their king by the five- Ever and anon the Tedjin shadow-walkers would call forth the year siege of the Tumakveh capital, those Bellakaranî still able to powers of Darkness to assail the bodies and spirits of the Faithful, carry on the fight found a new leader in Imrathôr, Izindubêth of and many were smitten by fell maladies or possessed by unclean the Batân an-Izindi. From the fastness of Urud an-Khibil, Im- spirits; but ever the lightnings of Nadi-manje that wreathed the rathôr’s followers armed themselves and embarked on a crusade Hulja Mountains would dispel and confound these sorceries, the against the Easterling invader, liberating their captured country- radiance of Ladnoca would restore strength and sinew to the de- men from the power of the enemy and swelling the ranks of their fenders, and the rains of Najm would hunt the besiegers as raging guerilla band. mountain torrents that swept them away like sand before an angry The event which triggered this unexpectedly militant reaction wave. So the legends tell. was the defilement of the Izindutârik by Tedjin shadow-walkers. But the time came when all the passes between the mountains Eager to stamp out all trace of Númenórean worship from Bel- were guarded, all the caves watched, and all the sheep and game lakar, these unholy shamans, trained in the dark sanctums of dis- of the Hulja were slain or taken by the Tedjin. Finally, the last tant Khand, polluted the hallow with the blood of a Variag priest- survivors of the resistance were driven to the hidden monastery of ess who had offered herself for this purpose, thereby rendering Urud an-Khibil, a high place guarded with walls of native stone, the ground accursed. But they recked little of the Batân an-Izindi, and their they were besieged and awaited their end. and believed that the sect’s disavowal of the Kâthasaptha would Then came the Blind Night—a dead night, in which the lights of blunt any serious opposition from that quarter. They were wrong. heaven and the allies of wind and rain were denied the defend- On learning of this unspeakable sacrilege against the One, the ers—and out of that darkness came a terrible Voice like the voice aging seer (now ninety-four years old) declared a holy war upon of thunder: “Ye fools! To throw away your lives for a fool’s fire and a vain the minions of the Shadow, assuring those of the Batân an-Izindi hope in lies! None can overcome the power of Darkness but me; for greatest that Eru and the Kôlir would guide their sword-arms until not a of all is the Dark, and it has no bounds. I came out of the Dark, but I am single infidel remained to profane Bellakarian soil with their Its master. Now shall ye be consumed by the Devourer in the Dark. Die, and abominations. Naming his eldest son, Êruzîrôn, to be their com- know that I alone am Lord!” mander, Imrathôr sent forth his warriors to do battle with the All the Narduwî am-Batân were felled by those words, and Easterlings. many swooned and did not awaken; those who succeeded in over- But the Izindubêth’s zeal had not outrun his wits. He realized mastering the deadly command lifted their eyes to see tongues of that they could not hope to overcome on the open field a foe flame leaping up around them—the Tedjin had scaled the walls whom even the Tumakveh with all their might had failed to van- with torches and were setting fire to the monastery! Blades were quish. Instead, Imrathôr counseled Êruzîrôn to strike by stealth drawn and cries of death rent the night air. The last battle had and ambush under cover of night, that they might teach the en- been joined. emy anew to fear the dark, the realm whose lord they owned. No defender survived to tell the tale of the massacre of Imrathôr For the next five years, Imrathôr’s warriors, the Narduwî am- and his warriors, but in after years adherents of the Batân an- Batân, harried the armies of the Tedjin and brought hope to the Izindi said that a thousand Tedjin fell beneath the swords of three Bellakaranî in their affliction. Most were simple country-folk who, hundred defenders ere they themselves were slain. The corpses of waiting until the harvest, abandoned their farms with all the grain the Faithful were cruelly hewn beyond recognition and left for the they could carry before the arrival of Tedjin foragers, putting the carrion-birds. Only the heads of Imrathôr and his sons were pre- rest to the torch and fleeing to the safety of the mountains. Many served, paraded about at spear-tip through the cities of a defeated who had formerly scorned the sect or had doubted the claims of nation. The monastery was demolished, its stones removed one- its spokesman now flocked to Imrathôr’s banner. The cause of the by-one to build the fortress of Joam-Tuv on the plain below. Batân an-Izindi was proved not to be incompatible with loyalty to the Tumakveh, who then still held Nîlûlondê. “Their fate is in the THE TEDJIN YOKE hands of Êru,” said the Izindubêth; “ours is to carry on their fight, even if they fail.” (TA 894-902) With the fall of Nîlûlondê, however, the conquering Tedjin- With the extermination of the rebels on Urud an-Khibil in 894, Qarsag army could now devote itself to the eradication of the reli- the subjugation of the Bellakaranî was complete. Refugees had gious menace that stalked the Hulja Mountains. In the spring of fled to the Forest Coast of Bozisha-Miraz, but territorially Bel- 890, Joam-Tuv was named the first kataj of all Bellakar. He set lakar was now entirely in Tedjin hands. The scheme of the out from the gates of Nîlûlondê with a great host of warriors and Shrouded Tarb being accomplished, Joam-Tuv sent envoys to slaves and marched north to a great oasis on the western flank of Umbar confirming friendship and alliance between the two the mountains. There they made a mighty encampment, destined realms. The Zâur an-Anî turned to the next stage in their plans, to be the site of Joam’s future capital. establishing the supremacy of their beliefs among the lords and From this base Joam sent detachments to occupy strong points people of Umbar. about the perimeter of the massif, building forts and towers and For his capital, Joam-Tuv took the fortress (also called “Joam”) cutting off all ways of escape. In time, Imrathôr and his followers which he had built in the Rôthurush vale, between Hazaj Tollin were surrounded. Sooner or later the net would be completely and the Hulja Mountains. It commanded a strategic route joining closed and they would be trapped. And now they had the dark the Batân an-Sakal with the inland paths across the Dune Sea. powers of necromancy, undistracted by other matters, to contend Joam also lay at the center of northern Bellakar, which the Tedjin with. now called Qadjajar (a Tedjin name meaning “Land of Warri- Even so, the Narduwî am-Batân would not break their vow, ors”), comprising both Mardruak and the Felayja. and being possessed of ample supplies and the advantage of posi- To commemorate the inauguration of his rule and the completion, they held out against the full might of the kataj for nearly five tion of his royal seat, which took place in the same year, Joam 24 Realm of Bellakar caused the bones of Batou Jochë, last kataj of Thri Zirakan who families. The same was true for their subordinates. Yet too strong had perished at the hands of Tumakveh forces nearly three and a a tie would put these Bellakaze collaborators at risk, lest their de- half centuries before, to be interred in a lavish mausoleum erected pendents lose faith in their commitment to their own people, and beside his own palace. Great pomp and ceremony attended this so undermine their moral authority in the eyes of their country- event, including the grisly sacrifice of two hundred Bellakaranî to men. appease Batou’s ghost. Perhaps the most lasting effect of the conquest was the emer- Although “valorous in battle,” the Tedjin were not suited to the gence of an entire generation of Bellakaranî—both bastards and task of ruling Bellakar. They could punish rebels and exact tribute legitimate offspring—with Tedjin-Qarsag blood. Although some from terrified peasants, but they lacked both the skills and the pa- of the invaders (particularly among the nomadic Tedjin) brought tience to take on the burden of administration. Fortunately for their families with them, the majority settled Bellakar in need of them, they had the Qarsag, who, though mercenaries by trade, wives. While sharing with the Qarsag a less elevated status among were Bozishnarod who understood the language, customs and in- the conquerors and a good deal of stigma from the Bellakaranî, stitutions of the conquered. These found ready employment (as this generation was born and came to maturity under Tedjin rule, well as ample opportunity for aggrandizement) under the Tedjin without experience of any other kind of existence. regime. The sense of loyalty possessed by these mixed-bloods, called The now defunct Bâitha’n-Kadîr was replaced by a system of Sorija, was therefore somewhat different than that of their parents djaian (sing. djai), military governors appointed and directly rein the generation that had gone before them. Having little or no sponsible to the kataj. Adapted from traditional Tedjin concepts of motivation to “liberate” themselves (except from their low station clan leadership, the djaian were responsible for maintaining garri- in society), the Sorija posed no threat to Tedjin rule; hence they sons in the cities, administering justice (such as it was under Ted- could be trusted with certain positions in the government and jin rule), and collecting tribute for the kataj. While mounted Ted- military. But their roots were firmly on Bellakarian soil, so they jin companies formed an important element of a city’s garrison, did not view their world quite so nomadically as their rulers. Bel- most of a djai’s underlings were Qarsag, the kataj having settled lakar was their home, and they would fight for it. most of his veteran warriors on agricultural land, either as cultiva- Though limited in their social prospects, one arena offered an tors themselves or as landlords to an impoverished Bellanara peas- especially open field for Sorijan advancement: employment in the antry. fleets. Many of the Tumakveh naval forces had escaped capture Joam’s goals were simple: to bring prosperity to his people and by the invader and withdrew with their ships to friendly ports control the trade routes between Umbar and the Far South. This along the southern and eastern coasts of the Bay of Tulwang, policy suited the interests of both Qarsag and Tedjin, and so long whence some continued to harry Tedjin-held Bellakar as freeboot- as Joam did not overtly threaten his powerful Bozishnara ers and pirates. In order to counter this threat, the Zâur an-Anî neighbors he need not fear any major opposition from that quar- arranged for Umbarean shipwrights and captains to offer their ter. He was aware of the Bellakarian exiles along the Forest services to the djaian of Bellazen and the Felayja. The activities of Coast, but as yet the kataj knew nothing of Adûnuzîr’s presence these foreign military experts was Nykkea, a port-town upon the among them, and so he heeded them little. Also, the powerful Cape of Mardruak, newly-founded in 894 as a center for ship- realm of Umbar was his ally. building. But for the Bellakaranî under Tedjin rule, life had become Knowing nothing of warfare on the sea, the kataj entrusted the harsh. The Bellanarod of the countryside lost much of their land coastal defense of the realm to his more maritime-savvy Bozish- to Tedjin settlers, driving them further into grinding poverty. In nara officers based in Nykkea, and this gave the Qarsag gover- the cities, the Bellakaze were now forced to share power with nors full authority to organize and train a navy as they saw fit. Be- overlords less alien but equally repugnant. All the conquered were cause of their outlook and adaptability, the Sorija were ideal re- disarmed and carefully monitored for any signs of rebellion. cruits. By the end of the first generation of Tedjin rule, Joam-Tuv Spiritually too the Bellanarod were worse off than their urban had at his disposal a fleet that, if not yet formidable enough to be- counterparts. With the exception of the Batân an-Izindi and the come a tool of future conquests, was quite capable of holding its Kâthasaptha, which were outlawed, Joam-Tuv did not particu- own against any threat to the coastlands of the kataj. larly care what gods his subjects worshipped—many of his own Qarsag preserved vestiges of their ancestral Bozishnara piety, ADÛNUZÎR’S EXILE though usually in a significantly altered form that elevated Va- (TA 889-902) tra—but wherever the Tedjin settled the kataj gave them license to pillage and destroy the fanes of the land as a victory-offering to For two decades Joam-Tuv ruled Bellakar oblivious of the ac- their own warlike deities. By contrast, the plundering of Bel- tions of the last surviving Tumakveh heir, Adûnuzîr son of Êruza- lakarian shrines in the cities by unscrupulous djaian, while not un- gar the Warmaker, who all the while had been quietly gathering known, remained an uncommon occurrence so long as the Bel- manpower and resources at Taôch on the Forest Coast. Well- lakaze did nothing to offend their masters. instructed by his adviser Zimrathôr, Adûnuzîr gathered round Some degree of accommodation, however, was necessary in or- himself the Bellakarian exiles, especially the ship-captains still der for both conqueror and conquered to survive. Few among the loyal to his house, and requested help from the Dar and the Forest invaders had been farmers, and fewer still were sufficiently accus- Coast. tomed to the clime and soil of Bellakar to entice the land to yield The towns and villages of the Forest Coast were vulnerable to its bounty. Only the Bellanarod possessed this knowledge. If they Tedjin encroachments, and their strategic position along the Batân perished from hunger or too harsh exactions, their Tedjin lords an-Sakal made them a tempting prize for the djai of Esmer. A would also become imperiled in this arid country. tenuous peace held between Joam-Tuv and Bozisha-Dar, based In the cities as well, compromise rather than outright oppres- on mutual interests in maintaining the caravan routes and mari- sion was the rule. Regarded as second-class citizens by the proud time trade on the Bay of Tulwang. This truce guaranteed the For- Tedjin and having no natural basis for authority among the people est Coast independence from the kataj, but it did not protect its they were to rule, many of the Qarsag governors sought marriage Bozishnara settlements from Sorijan piracy, often tolerated and connections and other social ties with the most powerful Bellakaze

25 Other Hands even tacitly supported by the djaian of the coastal cities of Bel- self. The djai and his followers were killed without mercy, and the lakar. For this reason Adûnuzîr found ready support for his cause gates were flung open to receive his liberating army. among the people of the coast. All were astonished to behold this unknown captain, bearing The reaction of the Katedrala to the Tumakveh’s plight was the Tumakveh symbols. “You do not dream,” said the king, “It is more guarded, and its regents were divided in opinion. Joam-Tuv I, Adûnuzîr son of Êruzagar the Warmaker. We shall drive these and the Tedjin now had a firm hold on the trade routes upon accursed Tedjin out of Bellakar. Will you follow us?” To this the which the Dar’s prosperity depended. Throughout their invasion delegates of the Bellakaranî replied: “Every warrior in the city will of Bellakar Joam’s forces had purposely avoided antagonizing help our king in this noble war.” Raj, thereby undercutting any ready pretext for Bozishnara inter- Adûnuzîr’s dramatic success at Târik an-Narduvî persuaded the vention on behalf of their neighbors. Katedrala to back the Tumakveh cause. Its House of Warcraft au- Ultimately, however, the Men of Raj were a pragmatic lot. Ted- thorized a detachment of Visi to serve as bodyguards for the Tu- jin-Qarsag rule over Bellakar was less favorable to their mercan- makveh, while glory-hunting Gusar clansmen marshaled a host of tile interests, and support for a successful Tumakveh reconquest mounted archers to match the bows of the Tedjin. Even the Diet would certainly improve their economic position in the region. If of Tresti sent forth a hundred warriors of Junast’s Guard to Adûnuzîr showed himself capable of overthrowing the current rul- avenge Tedjin desecration of Ladnoca’s shrines. ers of Bellakar, he could count on the support of the Dar. With the Forest Coast now secured by flanking Bozishnara land News of Imrathôr’s courageous resistance and fall inspired forces, Adûnuzîr advanced with his fleet against the old Korlean Adûnuzîr to act at once, but Zimrathôr warned him against this. territory: first Balkuzôr and Esmer, then Korlea itself. Several “My king,” he said, “if we attack now, while the Tedjin are strong, pitched sea-battles were fought with Sorijan ships, but the cap- we will surely be defeated. We must first send spies to find out tains of Tulwang had the advantage of both numbers and skill. how matters stand in Bellakar, and then wait for the kataj to lower his guard. In the meantime, you must learn the Tedjin ways of Adûnuzîr had struck before the Sorija of Mardruak and the Fe- war. Remember the Field of Black Death! Do not repeat the mis- layja could strengthen the squadrons of the southern djaian, and takes of Artârik an-Aranî.” Adûnuzîr, bowing to the wisdom of his those that were present were unused to large-scale naval engage- counselor, restrained his desire for vengeance, and following his ments, being better skilled in hit-and-run piratical tactics. advice, sent many spies into Bellakar in the spring of 895. With every new siege of a Tedjin-held city or town, the fate of In addition to gathering information on the disposition of Tedjin Târik an-Narduvî was repeated. Everywhere, the Tumakveh forces and the organization of Joam-Tuv’s realm, Adûnuzîr’s spies army, and particularly its king, were welcomed by the populace. made cautious contact with his father’s former subjects, testing Within a year, the djaian and their Tedjin overlords were com- which were loyal and identifying those whose allegiance had be- pelled to abandon all of southern Bellakar. Overhasty attempts by come compromised. In this way the exiled king learned that the the aging Joam-Tuv to recover his losses were swiftly repulsed by Batân an-Izindi had not perished with Imrathôr and his followers the unforeseen arrival of large companies of Gusar cavalry among on Urud an-Khibil. On the contrary, their example had stirred Adûnuzîr’s allies. Enraged at this reversal, Joam-Tuv never lost and rekindled the will of many Bellakaranî to carry on the resis- his wits and sense. He ordered his forces to withdraw to tance in secret. The knowledge that the Tumakveh line lived on in Nîlûlondê and Ûrêzâyan, and gave commands for the key routes exile and was preparing to strike a mighty blow against the Tedjin into Qadjajar to be fortified in preparation for a concerted assault fired their hearts all the more. When the time for attack came, by his enemies. eight years later, several pockets of Bellakarian resistance were Meanwhile, Adûnuzîr consolidated his hold over the south, offi- ready to give organized support to their king. cially proclaiming his kingship in the autumn of 905 at Korlea (where he had conveyed his wife and son for their safekeeping). THE RECONQUEST OF THE SOUTH Adûnuzîr restored the old governmental institutions, including the (TA 902-910) Bâitha’n-Kadîr with its asapthubêthî. The first of these new councilors was Abâruzôr of Korlea. Born just a few years prior to the Late in 902, a political conflict between the djaian of Narîk- invasion, Abâruzôr had devoted his life to fostering resistance zadan and Hazaj Tollin momentarily drew Tedjin attentions away against the Tedjin, having lost his family to the invaders in the from southern Bellakar, giving Adûnuzîr the opportunity he had early years of the occupation. Surnamed the Tactician, Abâruzôr awaited for more than a decade. Sending out secret summons to formed a secret society, the Free Sharks, which was responsible his loyalists and allies, the king began gathering his forces in winter quarters between Taôch and Refina. Though few as yet came for many Tedjin disappearances in the marshes near Korlea. from the Dar (apart from small, private companies sent by Abâruzôr’s Sharks were also responsible for the Korlean uprising Adûnuzîr’s staunchest supporters among the Katedrala), the Tu- at the time of the city’s liberation by Adûnuzîr. makveh ship-captains had recruited large numbers of mercenaries With the help of people like Abâruzôr, the king vigorously and adventurers from the coast of Tulwang eager for spoils. All rooted out and executed all who had been Tedjin sympathizers, told, the turnout was greater than Adûnuzîr had expected, much and destroyed all barbarian fanes that could be found, forbidding to his satisfaction. any to pay worship to the “Shadow-cults of the Easterling.” The “Tumakveh warriors!” Adûnuzîr addressed them, “Now is the adherents of the Batân an-Izindi were shown favor by the king, time we have long awaited, the hour when the Tedjin shall be and he urged them to continue to render him all aid in his next driven from Bellakar! We shall succeed.” To his wife, Abârinzil, task: the recapture of his ancestral capital—the birthplace of the the king said: “Protect our son, Arphazân, and if I do not return, goddess—and the purification of the Izindutârik of its defilements. teach him all that I have learned. Though now tender in years, a Adûnuzîr’s noble piety also contained a sober strategic objec- time will come when he will be needed.” tive: to lure the kataj into an engagement near mountainous ter- On 28 Najam, 903, Adûnuzîr launched a surprise attack on rain where the full strength of the Tedjin cavalry could not be de- Târik an-Narduvî, overwhelming the city’s outnumbered Tedjin ployed, thus evening the odds. Heeding Zimrathôr’s counsel, garrison by a combined land and sea attack. Adûnuzîr owed much Adûnuzîr achieved this stratagem in the following way. Marching of his success to a well-timed outbreak of revolt within the city it- north from Korlea at full strength, as though purposing to force a

26 Realm of Bellakar battle at the passes traversing the Urîd an-Abâr, Adûnuzîr unex- Only after two campaigning seasons was Adûnuzîr able to take pectedly divided his forces, sending ahead the Gusar cavalry to and hold these positions; but once they were in his power, the day form a protective screen while he led the main host westward to- that would wipe away the shame of his flight from his father’s side wards the headwaters of the Lôkhurush. could not be long postponed. Refusing to allow the Tedjin or his As Joam-Tuv beheld this abrupt change of movement from the own troops a respite, Adûnuzîr prosecuted the siege late into the mountain pass, it seemed to the kataj that his enemies were re- year. Not expecting such ferocity even from a Tumakveh, the de- treating—no doubt terrified at the greatness of his army! Exul- fenders found themselves unprepared. After three uninterrupted tant, the Easterling addressed his hordes: “See how these Bel- months of siege, the walls were breached and the Tedjin with their lakarian dogs flee before our face! Once again we shall show them Qarsag allies were massacred. and all the cursed rebels of this land how we Tedjin got our But not without a high price in Bellakarian dead. Adûnuzîr’s name.” reckless prolongation of the campaign of 908 had stretched his Confronted with the Easterling onslaught, the renowned Gusar army’s endurance beyond its limit, and with Ladnoca’s birthplace warriors broke formation and allowed themselves to be scattered liberated from the Poganin, Adûnuzîr’s Bozishnara allies refused across the plain, feigning flight. Duped by this Bozishnara stage- to spend their lives for the Tumakveh cause. They agreed to leave craft, and anxious to meet the son of Êruzagar in battle, the kataj garrisons along the Batân an-Sakal as far as Esmer, but would not march on Qadjajar. Bowing to necessity, Adûnuzîr remained in prevented his Tedjin from pursuing the routed Gusar, dispatching Nîlûlondê with the remnants of his army, giving them rest from the Qarsag for this task, while he pressed onward against the fugi- their toils. tive Tumakveh. Two years later, the young Prince Arphazân had assembled a Joam-Tuv had taken the bait. No sooner than the Tedjin were Bellakarian fleet, and without consulting his father launched a out of sight, the Gusar turned their horses round to face their sea-attack against Ûrêzâyan, seeking to free Bellazen from Sorijan renegade countrymen. Riding circles round the Qarsag lancers, harassment. Arphazân triumphed over the Sorija of Ûrêzâyan in a the fierce clansmen the Brij-Mijesec closed in for the kill, launch- brief naval campaign that lasted less than a month, supported by a ing a hail of deadly arrows into the trapped foe. By nightfall, no small Tumakveh land force dispatched by his perturbed father living Qarsag remained upon the Vale of Lôkhurush. Pushing from Ayal Koyren. It was Arphazân’s first experience of war their tireless steeds on through the night, morning found the against the Tedjin, but he was well-advised Abâruzôr the Tacti- Gusar hot on the heels of the Tedjin horde. But obedient to cian, asapthubêth of Korlea. Adûnuzîr’s instructions, the horsemen reined in their battle-fury Adûnuzîr was indignant at his son’s actions, deeming it too soon and refrained from attacking the Tedjin rear until the Tumakveh to hurl themselves headlong into a war in Qadjajar, and com- had sprung the trap. manded Arphazân to return to Korlea, leaving a garrison to hold On 15 Ishat, 906, the morning of the third day of his with- Ûrêzâyan. Still, the success of Arphazân’s bold venture meant that drawal, Adûnuzîr halted on the narrow plain wedged between the the Tumakveh now held both inroads of invasion to Qadjajar. But swift headwaters of the Lôkhurush and the precipitous slopes of invasion could wait. the Urîd an-Abâr. Deeming his prey cornered, and undeterred by With the withdrawal of the Bozishnara allies, southern Bellakar the terrain, the Tedjin hunter divided his forces, advancing with lacked the strength needed to dislodge the Tedjin from the north. picked cavalry columns into the angle of land that guarded the en- The needs of political and economic reconstruction in southern emy’s flanks. Once those in the Tedjin van were separated from Bellakar cried out with great urgency. Thus, in spite of the main host, Adûnuzîr gave orders for a beacon-fire to be lit, Nîlûlondê’s liberation, Korlea remained Adûnuzîr’s capital. Of signaling the Gusar to shatter the barbarian ranks from behind. equal importance to Adûnuzîr was the task of purifying the Izin- By the time Joam-Tuv heard the cries from his rear guard it was dutârik of its desecration. A few weeks after declaring the cessa- too late to alter the disposition of his forces. He had only one tion of war, on the anniversary of Êruzagar’s death (22 Tamun), hope: to fight until death. the king cleansed the hallow, resuming the Kâthasaptha. A power- Meeting the Tumakveh charge, the kataj now faced Adûnuzîr ful link to the past had been restored, but what would the future blade-to-blade. “Come, Tedjin! Defend your life,” Adûnuzîr hold? taunted, “for I will not allow you to leave this field alive.” Wroth with rage, Joam rode and bore down upon the son of the War- THE QADJAJAR STALEMATE maker with savage fury. But Adûnuzîr received his onset and was (TA 910-938) not daunted, and with the force of his shield the Tumakveh king unhorsed the Tedjin chieftain. Then, raising his sword, Adûnuzîr While Adûnuzîr and his son labored to heal their broken king- shouted: “Dishonorer of my father! You thought that you hunted dom in the south, the Tedjin of Qadjajar were distracted by a suc- dogs. But lo! instead you are like the craven jackal that has stum- cession conflict among the surviving sons of Joam-Tuv. Although bled upon a den of lions and was devoured, and the vultures shall brief and relatively bloodless (by Tedjin standards), the nominal feast on what the lions have left behind. Good sojourn in hell.” victor of the struggle, Joam’s third son Kator, was unable to Without hesitation, Adûnuzîr then slew Joam-Tuv; and there thrust his ambitious younger brother Ogtaï from the power he ex- Joam’s unburied corpse remained as food for the carrion, as ercised over the Tedjin chieftains and Qarsag djaian of Mardruak. Adûnuzîr had foretold. The result was an uneasy truce that (fortunately for the Tumak- Pushing forward his advantage, Adûnuzîr’s powerful army be- veh) thwarted any immediate Tedjin counter-invasion of the sieged Nîlûlondê in 17 Vatrul 906. The task would not be an easy south. It was not that Joam-Kator could not count on his Mardruak one. Even without the leadership of their kataj, the Tedjin held the subjects to follow his banner should he call for war; it was rather strongest citadel in Bellakar. Because its defenders also held most the fear that, once in the field, Ogtaï’s supporters might turn of Nîlûlondê’s oasis as well, the Bellakaranî and their allies, de- against him at a crucial moment—or worse, attempt to outmatch prived of an immediate source of foraging and water, were unable him in victories on the battlefield, thus casting further doubt upon to sustain a prolonged attack on the city itself. Instead they were his worthiness to lead the Tedjin. Accordingly, both the Tedjin forced to establish control first over the upper Sîres valley and the and the Tumakveh had reached a stalemate which neither could neighboring oases of Ayal Koyren. The latter would be perilous to risk breaking through a challenge to open war. Only a severe cri- hold, however, since they lay on the frontiers of Tedjin-controlled sis in the domestic situation of one antagonist would tip the bal- Qadjajar. 27 Other Hands ance in favor of the other. Qarsag assassin. The news came as a shock even to Joam-Kator, At the time of Ûrêzâyan’s capture by Arphazân in 910, both for the hand of the assassin had not been guided by his will. In- sides were content to wait upon chance to offer them the opportu- deed, the kataj was incensed at the deed, depriving him as it did of nity they desired. Neither were secure enough in their own lands exacting vengeance on his father’s slayer in battle. But the slight at this stage to contemplate a serious offensive in any case. Be- came with this blessing: Adûnuzîr’s death would throw the Tu- cause the Tumakveh held all land routes through the Urîd an- makveh realm into disarray. The time to break the stalemate had Abâr, any small-scale warfare that did take place would have to be come. by sea, and indeed the stalemate created ideal conditions for Sori- jan impudence against Bellazen (though none of the Sorija were THE BATTLE OF AYAL KOYREN so bold as to venture into the Bay of Tulwang). For this reason (TA 938) Ûrêzâyan became a major naval stronghold for the Tumakveh. In the generation that followed, its valiant marines took part in What the kataj did not know as he marshaled his Tedjin for war countless forays along the Felayjan and Mardruak coasts. was that Adûnuzîr’s assassination had not been the random act of But as the years dragged on and no turn of events likely to a rogue agent. The murder had been ordered by Ogtaï his break the impasse presented itself, both Joam-Kator and the Tu- brother, and not out of any fraternal affection. By it, Ogtaï in- makveh grew impatient. As warlord of a warlike people, military tended to lead Joam-Kator to his death and become kataj in his inactivity was almost as dangerous for the stability of Joam’s re- stead. By now adept at the espionage game, Ogtaï first learned gime as defeat in battle, especially with a belligerent like Ogtaï to from his spies in Joam’s war council of his brother’s battle plans, contend with. Enviously looking on as their half-breed Sorijan then arranged for this information to be divulged to Tumakveh subjects returned to haven daily with the spoils of maritime victo- spies well in advance of the conflict so that the Bellakaranî of the ries, the land-bound Tedjin horsemen chafed for a fight. south would be able to anticipate and defeat the kataj. For the Tumakveh the problem was the reverse: complacency. Ogtaï’s plot worked seamlessly. Hoping to repeat his father’s Though ever fearful of the barbarian realm on their northern bor- victory on the Field of Black Death, Joam planned to engage the ders and desirous of its extinction, many Bellakaranî in the south Tumakveh forces north of Nîlûlondê near the oasis of Ayal grew content with their relative security under the Tumakveh and Koyren (an essential link in the Bellakarian line of defense along became less eager to risk everything in an uncertain campaign far the northern slopes of the Urîd an-Abâr). By defeating the oasis’ from their homes. Attitudes were otherwise in Nîlûlondê and on meager garrison in advance of the main Tumakveh host, Joam the coast of Bellazen, but theirs was not the voice of the majority. could occupy the high ground around the fertile vale, forcing his Adûnuzîr and his son certainly regarded it as their duty to liberate enemies to attack from an inferior position, just as they did before the north, but time was now their enemy. the River Tosith almost half a century ago. Unfortunately for No longer trusting to the whim of chance, but still unwilling or Joam-Kator, this time the Bellakaranî had learned of his plans unable to commit themselves to open war, Joam and Adûnuzîr long before he could put them into effect. undertook to disrupt one another’s realms through subversion. Prince Arphazân had been overseeing the strengthening of Spies were sent, from Adûnuzîr to foster resistance among the Ûrêzâyan’s fortifications when news of his father’s death reached Bellakaze of Qadjajar, from the kataj to blunt the will of the Bel- him. Sailing to Korlea with all speed, the prince wasted no time lakaranî for war. asserting his authority, knowing that any dissension over his suc- The minions of Joam-Kator were for the most part of Qarsag cession and command of the army would play into Tedjin hands. extraction. (Easterling warriors masquerading as Tumakveh sub- Seeing to the execution of his father’s murderer (whose interroga- jects would have fooled no one.) Their principal sphere of activity tion repaid him with no more than spittle), Arphazân gave orders was Bellazen, where the hearts of villagers and townsfolk of the for Adûnuzîr’s funeral. coastlands, ever exposed to the shifting vicissitudes of seaborne During the ceremony, a weary messenger arrived in Korlea raids, might be turned to revolt (or at least turn a cold shoulder) from the north, one of Adûnuzîr’s spies. “I must speak with the against their would-be Tumakveh protectors in Ûrêzâyan. Their king immediately,” he said. But seeing his fallen lord being borne successes were limited, but so were attempts by their Bellakarian before him on a bier, the messenger bowed his head and corrected counterparts to sway the loyalties of the Sorijan-held towns. The his words: “To the successor of the king, then.” Led hastily to the consequences of failure were too dangerous for most coastal folk prince, the spy revealed the plan of the kataj. to allow themselves to become pawns of a power which, however Casting off his robes of mourning, Arphazân sent word to benign its promises, could not guarantee their protection against Ûrêzâyan, commanding its captain to lead his forces to Ayal the local garrison—Tumakveh or Tedjin. Koyren not by the Batân an-Sakal (which would be watched by Only in the larger coastal cities of Qadjajar—Hazaj Tollin and the enemy) but by mountain paths through the Urîd an-Abâr, and Narîk-zadan; Joam itself was too risky—did Adûnuzîr’s spies so to come upon the vale of the oasis from the south, above and meet with more enduring results sent also spies into Qadjajar. behind where Joam hoped to position his host. Meanwhile, he Here, in the centers of Tedjin power, the oppression of the kataj himself would mobilize the garrison of Nîlûlondê and with it was felt more keenly. The urban landscape afforded greater op- march openly to meet the kataj. By this stratagem the prince portunities for concealment, and only a few of the cautious Tu- hoped to catch Joam-Kator between the hammer and the anvil. makveh spies were taken alive by the authorities. Local acts of re- Joam divided the Tedjin hosts at Hazaj Tollin. Determined to sistance—anonymous attacks on the city guard, assassination of prevent any treachery from his conniving brother, but knowing Bellakaze “collaborators,” despoilment of granaries and redistri- nothing of Arphazân’s plans, the kataj commanded Ogtaï to follow bution of food to the wretched, burning of Sorijan ships in ha- him along the Batân an-Sakal as far as Kalz Yagup, there to hold ven—these were the sorts of things that might be achieved under the passage against the forces of Ûrêzâyan, while he pressed on Tedjin rule. They were a source of hope to a subjugated people eastward to Ayal Koyren. “Loyal warriors,” cried Joam-Kator, and an annoyance to their rulers, but little more than that. addressing his and his brother’s troops, “the Tumakveh have no And so the game continued, for nearly three decades, without king. And what can do a realm without a king? Nothing! The time any sign of the impasse being broken, until 938. In autumn of that has come to avenge the ghost of Joam-Tuv, Victor of the Field of year, to the horror of all, Adûnuzîr was murdered in Korlea by a Black Death!”

28 Realm of Bellakar Following Arphazân’s orders, the garrison of Ayal Koyren fled his army too far south along the Batân an-Sakal, the Tumakveh before the onset of the Tedjin host, withdrawing to Nîlûlondê prince might block his egress from the north, so that his army without offering any battle. Convinced that their dispersion re- would have foes behind them and before them. It was an unneces- sulted from Bellakarian cowardice, Joam-Kator fell prey to the sary risk. It was more important for Ogtaï to consolidate his rule same deception that was his father’s undoing. Only one grizzled back in Qadjajar, leaving behind strong forces to garrison the Fe- old Tedjin veteran, a survivor of the disaster of the Lôkhurush layja in preparation for the next round of the conflict. vale, remarked forebodingly to the kataj: “When Bellakaranî run That winter the new Tumakveh and Tedjin monarchs cele- without a fight, beware.” brated their accession in their respective capitals: Arphazân in Joam did not ignore this counsel, but neither did he change his Korlea and Ogtaï in Joam. Both events marked an incomplete plan, believing the deception (if there was one) to be the tempta- victory for their celebrants. The Tumakveh had held their own tion to pursue the fugitive garrison into some ambush near and gained an important stepping stone for their northerly aspira- Nîlûlondê where they would not have the advantage. Instead, the tions, but in the Felayja the enemy would have the advantage be- kataj trusted to the strength of ground that Ayal Koyren offered; cause of their superior naval strength on the Kalz Kalemej. Ogtaï but he also sent word to Ogtaï of what had befallen, bidding him meanwhile had returned triumphantly to Qadjajar as kataj, com- to keep his host in readiness as a reserve force if needed. Ogtaï memorating his installation with suitably bloody Tedjin pomp (a smiled when his brother’s messengers reported these things to mass sacrifice of 250 Bellakaze taken in the Felayja and an equal him, and sent the couriers back with assurances of his full coop- number of his dead brother’s former supporters, in honor of the eration. ghost of Joam-Tuv). So it happened that on 13 Sumat, 938, Prince Arphazân led his But even Ogtaï’s horizon was not entirely unclouded by trou- host to the foot of Ayal Koyren, Valley of a Thousand Streams, bles. While the rulers of Qadjajar and southern Bellakar had been whose waters would soon be glutted with Tedjin blood. There he frozen in a waiting game over the past decades, indifferent to halted, challenging Joam-Kator to meet him upon the plain. These events of the wider world, great matters were brewing on the Bay words caused Joam some consternation, since to decline might be of Belfalas which by comparison made the life-and-death struggles taken as a sign of cowardice. But the kataj felt sure this would lead of Bellakar seem like little more than a backwater land dispute. him into a trap, and shot back: “Come rather to us, if it be not an Umbar and Gondor had gone to war. idle tale that the Bellakaranî put trust in the god of these moun- As spies and assassins supplanted cavalry and phalanx as the tains!” soldiery of Adûnuzîr and Joam-Kator’s war of espionage, the “Your ears have heard no fable, Tedjin,” retorted Arphazân, Zâur an-Anî in Umbar had abandoned its cloaks and secret meet- “and now you shall feel the bite of His mighty sword!” Then the ings for swords and spears. In 920, the inheritors of Zagarkhâd’s prince ordered trumpets to be sounded, and at that signal warriors legacy openly declared their tenets and mission before an embat- of Ûrêzâyan began pouring down from the heights above onto the tled Council of Captains. Three years later they had gained startled Easterlings. At the same time Arphazân advanced with his enough supporters to seize control of the haven’s fortress and re- own forces, closing off the avenues of escape. build its infernal temple to the Lord of the Dark. This act pro- Within minutes the battle was decided and the Tedjin rout be- voked violent strife among the various political factions within the gan. To the east there was no escape, for Arphazân had stationed city and its surrounding hinterland for the next ten years. the Ayal Koyren garrison between that vale and Nîlûlondê, ready By 933, the Zâur an-Anî had mastery of Umbar’s Bâitha and its to cut down any fugitives. Only by striking westward did Joam fleet. But it was a short-lived victory; for not long afterwards, have any hope of reaching his brother’s forces. Then the kataj re- King Eärnil of Gondor, nephew and successor to Tarannon Falas- alized that flight to Ogtaï would mean death for him just as surely tur, stormed the city of the Ârûwanâi, sailing his armada into its as if he remained—at least death in battle would render his mem- haven, unopposed, by a deception. Their once-impregnable walls ory honorable on the lips of his people. And so the son of Joam- taken, their temple and its blasphemous altar cast down, the lords Tuv met his end. of Umbar had only two choices left to them: death without vengeance, or flight with the hope of one day redressing their calamity. UNFINISHED CONQUESTS Most chose the latter, perceiving that even if their beloved city (TA 930-938) itself were held by the enemy, the coastlands of Umbar and the Bay of Belfalas could be long defended against Gondorian attack. With the kataj dead and half his army routed, Arphazân’s sol- Indeed, so long as they were masters of these lands and their diers were so elated that they would have marched on the Tedjin many fortresses and walled towns, Umbar would be isolated from capital right then and there. The Tumakveh prince also greatly de- all Gondorian aid except by sea. Further, though they were exiled sired this, but he did not let his emotions get the better of him. He and their fleet scattered, the lords of Umbar still had many war- knew from the reports of his scouts that Ogtaï was lurking near ships under their command, safely harbored in Dûsalan and Bel- Saraj with the rest of the Tedjin host, easily within striking dis- lakar and southward across many leagues of land and sea, as far tance of Ûrêzâyan and Bellazen. A false move now might cancel as the Thânî Hazad in farthest Harad. whatever victory had been won at Ayal Koyren. The first task of the Ârûwanâ exiles was to canvass Haradwaith Accordingly, Arphazân ordered the forces of Ûrêzâyan to re- for allies in their struggle. Their most important source of aid turn to their city by the same way they had come, avoiding the came from the Jelut, nomads of the barren country between Um- possibility of confrontation with Ogtaï until they were within the bar and the Dune Sea, who had served the King’s Men as cavalry security of their own walls. The prince himself decided not to auxiliaries in the land wars of Tarannon’s day. Under a new clan tempt fate at Saraj, but instead strengthened his garrison and for- of charismatic leaders, the Muargiz, the Jelut could draw on tifications at Ayal Koyren. There he remained, awaiting news of many allies across the Harad, as far as Maresh in Lurmsakûn and the Tedjin’s movements. Khibil Êphalak in the Auz Bekar. But some adherents of the Zâur As for Ogtaï, he had achieved his objective. When his spies rean-Anî looked also southwards to Qadjajar, remembering Zagark- ported to the Tedjin camp that Joam was dead, Ogtaï was imme- hâd’s pact with the Tedjin. diately heralded as kataj. As reward for their loyalty, Ogtaï per- Nûluzîr son of Zagarkhâd was one such exile. Escaping the mitted his warriors to ravage the Felayjan countryside, but for- capture of the haven, he sailed south along the coast to Dûsalan, bade them to lay siege to Ûrêzâyan. Ogtaï knew that if he moved 29 Other Hands the traditional stronghold of his family, in 934. Thence he sent em- father and brother.) Ogtaï was also happy to let his warriors deci- issaries into Mardruak, testing the mood of its Tedjin chieftains mate defenseless coastal settlements (thereby making the Felayjan and Qarsag djaian, and inquiring especially into the state of Qad- marches still more difficult for the Tumakveh to negotiate). But jajar’s fleet. By these probings Nûluzîr learned of the indecisive under no circumstances would the kataj attempt to re-take lost ter- contest being played out by the kataj and his Tumakveh antago- ritory. nists, and of Ogtaï’s ambitions against his brother, and of the Ted- This was a source of annoyance to many of Ogtaï’s followers, jin yearning for war. but Ogtaï remained intransigent. He was not willing to strain his Like his father, Nûluzîr was a subtle man, well skilled to gain already strained manpower further. The root of the problem was what he would by patient effort when no immediate solution pre- Nûluzîr, who continued to seduce the kataj’s Mardruak subjects sented itself. It was he who first encouraged Ogtaï to break the to more promising military ventures based in Dûsalan. The kataj’s stalemate by Adûnuzîr’s murder. But the son of Joam-Tuv was no Vultures responded with brutal suppression, but this only wors- mere sorcerer’s tool. He spoke with diplomatic vagueness to ened the problem, provoking armed rebellion in places where Nûluzîr’s envoys about the prospect of Qadjajar contributing to Tedjin settlers had not forgotten their martial traditions. the “Southron Alliance” then being assembled by the Umbarean Ogtaï’s slash and burn tactics, which became more and more exiles, but the future kataj knew that he could not afford to send frequent as his frustration with the Felayja grew, generated new great numbers of his warriors a hundred leagues north and more complaints among his soldiery. The Tedjin eventually became to fight Gondorians while the Tumakveh threatened Qadjajar’s bored of pillaging civilian settlements—a war without honor for Felayjan frontier. them—and the Sorija grew hungry for more lucrative targets like Nûluzîr realized this too. But he did not believe, as had Zagark- Ûrêzâyan or even the southern coast of Bellakar on the Bay of hâd, that the Tumakveh were capable of posing a threat to an Tulwang. Something had to give. If Ogtaï wanted his forces to Umbarean war with Gondor, deeming them ineffectual beyond fight, he would have to bow to their wishes and alter his strategy. their own borders and irreparably estranged from the Elendili. Unfortunately, Ogtaï was in no mood to bend to anyone’s will, be- Therefore Nûluzîr was not above subverting Ogtaï’s subjects with ing confronted on all sides with challenges to his authority. temptations of marital glory and rich spoils to be had in his cause. By 951, tensions between the kataj and most of his subjects had So it was that when Ogtaï celebrated his accession in Joam in reached the breaking point. Hazaj Tollin, Joam and all the Rôthu- the winter of 938, he found many of his people clamoring for him rush vale remained loyal to Ogtaï, but Mardruak had become an to lead them to glorious conquests in the north (or to give them unknown quantity. The Vultures he sent into Narîk-zadan, Nyk- leave to enter the service of Nûluzîr as mercenaries). But the kataj kea and even the surrounding hill country were failing in their would have none of this, regarding all but those who counseled missions or not returning at all. Ogtaï contemplated marching into war with the Tumakveh as rebels against his rule. To emphasize Mardruak to re-establish order, but could not do so without leav- this point, Ogtaï ordered a ruthless purge of all in his realm—djai, ing his core territory vulnerable to Tumakveh attack. While Ogtaï chieftain, warrior, peasant or merchant known to have received wintered at Joam, wasting time debating with himself, the exas- visitations from Dûsalan. In parody of Nûluzîr’s cause, the kataj perated leaders of Mardruak decided to take matters into their jokingly referred to those whom he had assigned the task of own hands. butchering these traitors the “Creed of Vultures.” The chief among these discontents was Olug Kejar, the djai of Narîk-zadan. A Tedjin collaborator of Bellakaze origin, Olug was THE FELAYJAN WAR of a less ruthless character than most of the kataj’s governors. He (TA 939-951) showed toleration to his own people, defending their right to live among their conquerors (and not merely in poverty). If a sedition Spring of the next year (939) saw the commencement of the so- arose in his city (not an uncommon event under Ogtaï’s harsh called Felayjan War, really a series of campaigns spanning more rule), Olug preferred to deal with the rebels by negotiation rather than a decade which focused on repeated attempts to control the than force, offering them better consideration if they agreed to lay Felayja, the 300-mile coastal strip between Ûrêzâyan and Hazaj down their arms. This policy showed him to be a fair-minded ad- Tollin. The strategic significance of this region lay in its capacity ministrator, as did his efforts to rescue many of his subjects— to serve as a rampart for an invading army bent on determined as- Bellakaze, Qarsag and Tedjin alike—from the talons of Ogtaï’s sault of the lands on either side of it. The challenge that the Tu- Vultures. makveh faced lay not so much in conquering the Felayjan coast Nevertheless, Olug Kejar remained loyal to his kataj throughout from its Tedjin overlords as in maintaining possession of it once it the Felayjan War, showing no interest in Nûluzîr’s enticements, had been won. It contained no great cities or easily defensible fast- though he might have had great profit from collaboration with the nesses, and so was constantly exposed to counter-attack by either Exiles in neighboring Dûsalan, scarcely thirty leagues north of his land or sea. city. He permitted Umbarean ships to take have in Narîk-zadan, Predictably, Arphazân’s early Felayjan campaigns were but forbade his Sorija to take up arms with the Ârûwanâi. The thwarted by the Sorija. Arphazân had his own fleet, but it was not foresighted djai was determined to steer clear of the entanglements large enough to protect both the Felayja and Bellazen simultane- of war with Gondor, and certainly wanted to avoid antagonizing ously. The kataj simply had more ships at his disposal. If Ar- Ogtaï. phazân dispatched his fleet to screen and provision his land forces So long as the Sorijan fleets had the Felayja and the ships of the in the Felayja, the Sorija of Hazaj Tollin would harass them while Tumakveh to plunder, they were content to obey the commands the Sorija of Mardruak would simply sail past and attack unde- of their djai. But as the Felayjan War progressed and the pickings fended Bellazen, forcing the Tumakveh forces to abort their became slimmer, Olug perceived that the kataj was swiftly back- northward march. ing himself into a predicament which could only result in the dis- But if the Tumakveh were defeated by the sea, the Tedjin were integration of Qadjajar. The only choice left to the djai of Narîk- equally unable to make much headway on land. This, however, zadan was to determine how he would weather the coming storm: stemmed not from incompetence but from a lack of will on Ogtaï’s would he fall with Ogtaï’s doomed regime, or preserve his own part. The kataj was only too ready to engage Tumakveh forces on authority in spite of the ruin of the house of Joam-Tuv? an open field where a means of escape was available. (He would not fall prey to the entrapment tactics that claimed the lives of his 30 Realm of Bellakar THE MARDRUAK EMBASSY ground, then we shall discuss terms of peace between Bellakar (TA 951) and Mardruak.” In the winter of 951, the eleventh year of the Felayjan War, a secret delegation sent by Olug Kejar was granted a guarded audi- THE END OF TEDJIN RULE ence with King Arphazân in Korlea. Representing the three peo- (TA 952) ples of Qadjajar, the ambassadors included Djataï-Tajdor of In spring of the next year (952) a Bellakarian army led by Ar- Narîk-zadan (Olug Kejar’s son), Haz-Ishtu (brother of Haz- phazân marched out from the gates of Ûrêzâyan and advanced Kajtor, the Sorijan djai of Nykkea) and Dashan-Jal (a Tedjin through a desolate Felayja along the Batân an-Sakal, provisioned chieftain from the country round Sarnak Hor). Together they rep- and shielded by the Tumakveh fleet under the command of the resented the coming generation of Mardruak’s leaders. king’s son, Prince Narkuzîr. The kataj, fully apprised of this by his Naming the son of Olug Kejar as their spokesman, they re- scouts, commanded his Sorijan fleets to intercept and repel the en- vealed to their old enemy the turmoil that was now seething in emy, as they had done almost annually for the past decade. Qadjajar as a result of Ogtaï’s unjust rule. Djataï-Tajdor said that And so it seemed that they would do so again, until the ships of their people would make common cause with the Tumakveh to Mardruak suddenly turned against their comrades from Hazaj overthrow this tyrant (whom they named the Bloodmaker) if Ar- Tollin, driving them back to haven and blockading its harbor. Fu- phazân would forget his quarrel with them and leave Mardruak in rious at this betrayal, Ogtaï summoned the Tedjin to Joam, peace. The Sorija of Nykkea and Narîk-zadan would allow the whence he prepared to ride and meet the Tumakveh land forces Bellakaranî to pass the Felayja unhindered, and Tedjin from Sar- before the crossed the River Tosith. In this too, the kataj reaped nak Hor would provide them with guides to assist in the over- the fruits of his wickedness; for as his hordes were being mar- throw of Joam and Hazaj Tollin. shaled in the Rôthurush vale, they were attacked by Tedjin out of Arphazân listened to these words with great suspicion, but per- Sarnak Hor led by the kinsmen of Dashan-Jal. ceived that they were spoken in earnest. The prospect of marching Though still greatly outmatched by those loyal to Ogtaï, the re- unopposed to Ogtaï’s doorstep was a tempting one, weary as he bel Tedjin succeeded in throwing the kataj’s ranks into disarray, was with so many years of inconclusive skirmishing in the Felayja. threatening to harass them further if they sought to advance far Nevertheless, the Tumakveh king would drive a hard bargain. from Joam. By the time Ogtaï was able to restore order to his “As for your offer to aid us in the overthrow of Ogtaï the Blood- forces, the Bellakaranî had already reached the walls of Hazaj maker,” answered Arphazân, “it is accepted, provided that you Tollin and had commenced its siege. Faced with a union of foes three remain at my side as hostages for the safekeeping of your greater than he had imagined possible, the embattled kataj desper- oaths. But even should we succeed in our purpose, such aid as you ately turned to the only possible source of help left to him: Nûluzîr now promise shall not avail to redress three score years and seven of Dûsalan. of wrongful oppression of my people by lords of alien race or by But even the son of Zagarkhâd would not lend aid to Ogtaï those who have chosen to serve them. Mardruak belongs to the Bloodmaker. On the contrary, when Nûluzîr learned of what had Bellakaranî, and I am their rightful lord.” befallen in Qadjajar, he cast in his lot with the enemies of the At this the heart of Djataï-Tajdor grew hot, and he spoke out in kataj, hoping that fall of Joam’s house would woo greater num- bitterness: “So fair and noble is it to speak thus, secure upon your bers into his camp. Nûluzîr’s Tedjin allies soon joined the rebels of throne, two hundred leagues and more from this land that you Sarnak Hor in the Rôthurush valley, preventing Ogtaï from claim as your own! But answer me this, Tumakveh: who has marching against the Tumakveh. Meanwhile, some six weeks af- cared for the folk of Mardruak through all those years while you ter the siege of Hazaj Tollin had begun, Umbarean exiles who had and your father and his father before him lifted never a finger on been taking haven there when the Sorijan blockade was estab- their behalf, for all your high-mindedness? Who has risked all in lished, seeing how matters were going, conspired to betray the seeking your goodwill, hoping to find an ally worthier of faith city to the besiegers, attacking the garrison of the main gate from than the house of Joam-Tuv? Mardruak belongs to the Bel- within. lakaranî, you say. What, then, are we? Does not Bellakaze blood As a demonstration of his solidarity with the victims of the flow in my veins, as it does in the kinsman of Haz-Kajtor—yea, Bloodmaker, Arphazân dealt harshly with Ogtaï’s supporters once even in Dashan-Jal, whose folk have tilled Bellakarian soil since the city had been secured. The kataj’s Vultures were summarily the days of their fathers’ fathers?” executed before a public tribunal, and the djai of the city was com- Many who heard these words took offense at Djataï-Tajdor’s pelled to take his own life. The Sorija he pardoned, trusting that words, reviling them as the effrontery of a Tedjin slave who knew they would bend with the political wind like their brethren in not whereof he spoke. But the king lifted his hand, silencing the Mardruak, but ordered the fleet of Hazaj Tollin demobilized until confusion of angry voices, and rose from his throne. “You speak the war was over. Arphazân thanked the Umbareans for their with a true tongue, son of Olug Kejar,” answered Arphazân timely assistance, and allowed them to stay or depart in peace as gravely, “and your words are like swords to my heart; for they they would. bring just judgement against my house. Indeed, the Tumakveh Leaving the great port in the hands of his son, the king ad- have failed their people in Qadjajar, awaiting an hour that would vanced with his land forces alongside the Rôthurush river until he never come, while they suffered.” A silence followed, and those beheld the walls of Joam. There Arphazân found the rebel Tedjin who had cast aspersions upon Djataï-Tajdor now bowed their already busy with its siege and promptly joined in. But when heads in shame. Dashan-Jal explained to the Tumakveh that many of those con- “But you have named the hour,” said the king at last, “and your ducting the siege were not of Sarnak Hor but had come at voice has been heard. The last son of Joam-Tuv shall die by my Nûluzîr’s behest, Arphazân was dismayed. sword. Thus shall the people of Qadjajar be avenged and the stain The king wanted no traffic with any who served an Advocate of on my family’s honor be removed. So do I swear.” Then Arphazân the Zâur an-Anî —even as mercenary allies; but he could not risk dismissed the emissaries, saying: “Go now. Bring our reply back dissension among the besiegers. Not only would that play into to your people, and let them prepare for war with Ogtaï Blood- Ogtaï’s hands; Nûluzîr’s Tedjin (mostly from Zimrênzil) were nu- maker. When he lies dead the walls of Joam are razed to the merous, and might prove a still deadlier foe outside the walls of Joam than the kataj within, if they were provoked. Also, Ar- 31 Other Hands phazân remembered his vow to Djataï-Tajdor, who stood nearby whose affairs Narkuzîr his son had set in order during his ab- him as his hostage: that Ogtaï the Bloodmaker would die by his sence. sword. That could not be, if the king now abandoned the siege be- There Arphazân addressed the Sorija, offering them service in cause of the company. He beat down his pride, and kept his gaze his navy if they would swear fealty to his house, but giving them trained on the goal. leave to depart freely from his realm (without their ships) if such Arphazân had not long to wait. Though a mighty fortress, Joam allegiance was not to their liking. Many of the Sorija marveled to had not store of provisions sufficient to feed the numbers that had hear the king’s generous offer, fearing that he would exact harsh been cooped up within it by the rebels. Long before its defenses punishment on them for the injuries they had done to Bellakar un- were breached, the kataj would be forced to break the siege or die der the Tedjin. of hunger within. The besiegers knew this, and arranged their Most accepted Arphazân’s invitation, and remained at Hazaj camps to force the sortie that must soon come from the gates into Tollin. But one there was, Lojnar, who gathered many Sorija to a narrow field beside the Rôthurush—even as Arphazân’s father him and, under cover of night, seized many ships and drew them Adûnuzîr had trapped Joam-Tuv in the Urîd an-Abâr many years away before the Tumakveh garrison could prevent their egress. ago. Lojnar was the son of the djai of Hazaj Tollin, whom Arphazân Ogtaï Bloodmaker, last kataj of the house of Joam, rode forth had compelled to commit suicide at the taking of the city. For this from his gates at the head of a grim Tedjin host at dawn on 28 reason he hated the Tumakveh, naming all who served them trai- Ishat, 952, prepared to die and to deal death. The waters of the tors and turncoats. Lojnar’s Sorija fled west, ravaging the coast of Rôthurush turned to wine that day—red wine—and the grass of Mardruak as they went, until they came to Dûsalan, and there its vale glistened with death at the sun’s rising, as a slaughter of they found welcome. indescribable brutality followed. Tedjin slew Tedjin, Bellakaranî Meanwhile, Arphazân returned with his army to southern Bel- slew Tedjin, and Ogtaï slew both. But the besiegers had the day, lakar, leaving Narkuzîr to oversee the re-ordering of the Felayja. as the kataj’s horsemen were driven against the river and their After disbanding his forces, the Tumakveh announced that he charge thrown into disorder. Companies of Sorijan archers, would at last move his seat back to Nîlûlondê, the city of his an- brought up from Hazaj Tollin by Arphazân, completed the car- cestors. The king entered its gates on 22 Tamun, 952, the sixty- nage. third anniversary of its fall to the Tedjin. And he spoke words to But Ogtaï and his Vultures were spared to the last at Ar- his people, recalling the courage of Êruzagar his grandfather, and phazân’s command, and when they alone remained to threaten the prophesying that Nîlûlondê would never again fall to an invader. field, a ring was formed around them and the Tumakveh king The 28th of Ishat Arphazân instituted as a day of festival, com- rode into its midst, dismounting from his horse and challenging memorating the fall of Joam and the restoration of his kingdom. the kataj to single combat. Yet not all was pomp and celebration. The matter of Mardruak “Remember the fate of Êruzagar the Warmaker,” cried Ar- weighed heavily upon the king’s thoughts. Many of its leaders had phazân. “He was denied a last battle against your father Joam- proven their goodwill towards him, and but for their help he could Tuv. On the slopes of the Urîd an-Abâr, my father avenged his not have defeated Ogtaï and recovered the Felayja. But not all in death. But today a greater reckoning awaits you, Bloodmaker; in Mardruak were to be trusted. Many Tedjin looked to Dûsalan as peace you have slain more than all your ancestors ever did in war. an ally and employer, and now there were Lojnar’s Sorija to con- Even your own Tedjin revolt against you for shame. The ghosts of sider. For all the strength of Arphazân’s new allies, neither he nor all you have wronged—Tedjin, Qarsag, Sorija and Bellakaze— they had the power to assail the coasts of the Ârûwanâi that lay summon me to appease them. That prayer I shall fulfill, so that all beyond Narîk-zadan. When the ambassadors of Mardruak ar- in Bellakar and Qadjajar may know by what manner of justice the rived in Nîlûlondê in the autumn of that year, therefore, the Tu- Tumakveh rule their realm. Come forth! If I die, you may depart makveh had to strike a careful balance between asserting his this field alive, but you may never leave Bellakar so long as you claims as King of Bellakar and recognizing the de facto autonomy live—and that may not be long, judging from the number of of his newfound friends. friends you have made under your rule.” The same envoys headed the delegation as before: Djataï-Tajdor All who heard Arphazân’s challenge—even the Tedjin—were of Narîk-zadan, Haz-Ishtu of Nykkea and Dashan-Jal of Sarnak amazed. The Bellakaranî quailed; for Ogtaï was a warrior of great Hor. To these Arphazân said: “The Cape of Mardruak has been renown. Never again would any man of Tedjin blood dare to ac- Bellakarian land since days of old, and from the time of Zimrêbal cuse the Tumakveh of cowardice. But the kataj was fey of mood, my ancestor, its people have owned the Tumakveh as lords. This and gave no heed to those around him. He dismounted and ad- land the house of Joam-Tuv seized and ruled unjustly. Now the vanced to slay Arphazân, sword in hand. house of Joam-Tuv is no more, and I, Arphazân, son of Adûnuzîr, Like a wild beast Ogtaï fought, lashing out at the king with son of Êruzagar the Warmaker, hereby renew my house’s claim mighty strokes that would have felled many a warrior, but Ar- upon it. If you would have peace between Mardruak and the phazân maintained his composure, nimbly deflecting the Tedjin’s south, you must acknowledge my suzerainty.” blows. Then, as the Bloodmaker off-balanced himself with yet an- Then Djataï-Tajdor spoke: “By what terms would you exercise other swing, the grandson of Êruzagar the Warmaker thrust his this suzerainty, Arphazân Tumakveh?" The king answered him blade deep into the kataj’s breast and cried: “Your line is at an with the following conditions: end, Tedjin!” And with those words and that thrust, the Tedjin • “All Tedjin, Qarsag and Sorija who acknowledge me and abide yoke was lifted from Bellakar forever. by my laws may dwell in Mardruak on equal terms with the Bel- lakaranî, recognizing them as brothers. But the Bellakaranî have THE TERMS OF ARPHAZÂN suffered under the Tedjin yoke—they have been deprived un- (TA 952-957) justly of their lands and their rights, and many have been injured or slain without cause. Reparation, fair and fitting, must be made Soon after Ogtaï’s death, the defenses of Joam were breached, to them, paid out of their own property, the amount to be deter- its inhabitants mercilessly slaughtered, its walls razed and its mined by assessors appointed and sent by me. buildings put to the torch. The rebels of Mardruak returned to • “The freedom of the Bellakaranî shall include the liberty, denied their homes and Arphazân released the hostages, bidding them them under the house of Joam-Tuv, to openly declare their devo- seek him in Nîlûlondê after the harvest to hear his terms of peace. tion to the One, whether by the Kâthasaptha or the Batân an- The Tumakveh king then led his army back to Hazaj Tollin, Izindi, as their conscience dictates. The cults of the Bozishnarod 32 Realm of Bellakar shall also be freely practiced in Mardruak, as they are in Bellazen In 954, the conjoint armies of Mardruak and the Felayja suc- and the Felayja. But the gods of the Tedjin, whose followers proceeded in capturing Zimrênzil from the belligerent Tedjin. Lack- faned the holy places of Êru and the Balâi in the days of Joam- ing forces sufficient to occupy so distant an outpost, Narkuzîr had Tuv, shall be neither named nor worshipped on Bellakarian soil. no alternative but to demolish the once beautiful Tumakveh city Any found in violation of this law shall be called rebels, and must so that it could not be used again by the enemy—thus earning be delivered to us for execution. The same interdict applies to himself the sobriquet Ervak, “the Destroyer.” But this victory did those who follow the Zâur an-Anî or take service with any who not put an end to the Tedjin threat to Mardruak. So long as the name Mulkhêr lord.” Zâur an-Anî held Dûsalan, the enemies of Bellakar would have a • “Mardruak shall be governed according to the precepts of the powerful stronghold in the north. Bâitha’n-Kadîr and subject to its judgement. No other form of political organization shall be recognized. All Tedjin clans shall be dissolved and their members beholden to one of the Kadîr. All THE SORIJAN MENACE Kadîr of Mardruak may retain their present leaders, provided (TA 957-986) that these have committed no wrong against the Bellakaranî un- The re-integration of Narîk-zadan into the Bâitha was com- der Tedjin rule. But all garrisons shall disband and be replaced pleted in 957, followed two years later by Nykkea. The lords of by Bellakarian garrisons of my choosing. In the hereafter, how- Mardruak now ruled a coastline that stretched a hundred leagues ever, these garrisons shall not be closed to men of Tedjin, Qarsag from east to west, commanding a strategic arm of the sea-route or Sorijan birth.” between the Bay of Belfalas in the north and the Azra’m-Miraz in the south. This held out the promise of future wealth from a re- To some of his counselors, Arphazân’s terms seemed excessive vived maritime trade (which proceeded apace in spite of the inves- (though hardly undeserved). In particular, it was feared that the titure of Umbar by its exiled lords and their Southron allies). On king’s demand for the dissolution of the Tedjin clans would suc- the other hand, it made Mardruak a tempting prize for the ceed only in driving more of them into Nûluzîr’s camp. But the Ârûwanâi and other disenfranchised elements in the region. Tumakveh knew from private conversations with Dashan-Jal that Chief among these were the Sorija—both the renegades who many Tedjin of the Mardruak coast had long since become assimi- followed Lojnar and those who lived under the new regime in lated in their cults and social organization to those of the Qarsag Mardruak itself. Although the Tumakveh could afford to feed and or Bellanarod. To these, Arphazân’s terms would not appear dis- pay a moderately sized naval force at Hazaj Tollin, they lacked the ruptive; indeed, they would validate their traditions. On the other resources to subsidize the glutted fleets of Nykkea and Narîk- hand, the decisive tone of the king’s strictures would force the zadan, leaving the lords of those cities to their own devices. Suf- Tedjin of the hinterland to decide which side of the new political fering from even more acute financial problems than the Tumak- fence they would stand on. veh, Haz-Kajtor and Ârûzôr attempted to assuage this problem by The terms were accepted by all three ambassadors. Arphazân discharging many veteran Sorija and settling them along the coast recognized Haz-Kajtor as the lord of Nykkea and joined the lands to help guard its waters. of Dashan-Jal’s people to that city’s territory. The king would Unfortunately, none of these solutions addressed the root of the have confirmed Olug Kejar as Narîk-zadan’s ruler, but the vener- Sorijan problem; namely, the hard truth that for the past half cen- able djai insisted that this honor be bestowed upon his son, Djataï- tury the katajan had allowed their governors to build up a navy Tajdor, through whose labors peace with the Tumakveh had been whose existence and well-being depended on constant raiding. So achieved. To symbolize the restoration of his city to Bellakar, long as Bellazen and the Felayja were hostile coasts, the Sorija of Djataï abandoned his Tedjin name for Ârûzôr, “He who obeys the Mardruak prospered. Now that those coasts were closed to them King.” and their new leaders could neither support them nor, because of The reincorporating Nykkea and Narîk-zadan into the Tumakveh policy, offer them any alternative object of plunder, the Bâitha’n-Kadîr did not happen overnight. The determination and Sorija were forced to rely on their own devices to survive. supervision of the “reparations” owed to the Bellakaze and Bel- This meant piracy, often conducted under the veil of official lanarod by their neighbors proved a slow and often painful proc- "policing" operations. Occasionally the targets of such activities ess that kept the king’s officials busy for five years in Narîk-zadan were other Sorija—Lojnar’s corsairs from Dûsalan. But as yet and still longer in Nykkea. The exactions condemned many to these did not often venture into Bellakarian waters; Lojnar’s at- penury and want, and some spoke bitterly that their leaders had tentions were turned northward, where the war with Gondor of- betrayed them to a new brood of vultures. fered a rich field of piratical opportunity. Set in their ways, most But there were few acts of defiance among the already impover- Mardruak Sorija returned to their traditional hunting grounds in ished populace of the coastal regions. They had suffered under the the Felayja, now only beginning to recover from the ravages of the house of Joam-Tuv, and they would continue to suffer under Tu- past decade. But the Felayjan harvest proved mean and fleeting. makveh hegemony. Their leaders assured them that their present The devastated villagers and new colonists of the battered coast- condition was eminently preferable to the rule of Ogtaï the Blood- land offered the Sorija few returns for the amount of energy re- maker—and with this all agreed—but that did not make the redis- quired to carry out their clandestine forays. Inevitably, the king tribution of wealth much pleasanter to those who were on the los- became aware of these depredations and soon discovered the iden- ing end. tity of their perpetrators. Violent opposition was confined to the Tedjin horse-clans of the This strained relations between the Tumakveh and his Mar- interior, concentrated in the vicinity of Zimrênzil, who now re- druak vassals considerably. Arphazân sent angry missives to Nyk- garded their complacent kinsfolk as strangers to be plundered. kea and Narîk-zadan, insisting the their authorities seize the par- While persistent, the marauders were not strong enough to ties responsible and pay more "reparations" to their victims. The threaten the walls of Narîk-zadan or Nykkea, but they did cause Tumakveh king failed to comprehend the pervasiveness of the damage to the countryside. The curtailment of these raids was the Sorijan problem, as though these freebooters were but a few main task of the new Bellakarian garrisons of Mardruak, and they weeds that could be neatly plucked and uprooted from his garden. received substantial assistance from Prince Narkuzîr in Hazaj Far from the sea in Nîlûlondê, Arphazân did not realize that the Tollin. “peace” he had brought to Mardruak was starving its mariners and driving them to desperation. 33 Other Hands Repeated efforts to suppress the epidemic proved futile. Ar- gades were scattered by the ships of Bellakar, commanded by phazân was losing his patience, but he could see no solution short Narkuzîr’s son, Prince Arzagar. An auxiliary Sorijan fleet from of outright war. The king, however, was spared the ignominy of Hazaj Tollin kept Masul on the run while Arzagar came to the re- passing so harsh a judgement on a people who had surrendered lief of Narîk-zadan. Frustrated by the impetuous Tumakveh themselves to his protection in good faith. In 975, Arphazân died prince, Lojnar withdrew to Dûsalan. in his bed at the ripe old age of 86, leaving the Sorijan problem for Like Gondorian-controlled Umbar in the north, Narîk-zadan his son, Narkuzîr II Ervak, to resolve. now became a lone foothold for the Tumakveh upon a belligerent Better informed of conditions in Mardruak than his father had coast. Quick hit-and-run tactics could be employed to weaken the been (due to his governance of Hazaj Tollin and the Felayja), Sorijan strongholds, but unless the coastline itself could be Narkuzîr intended to defeat the piratical threat by turning the wrested from their grip, no prolonged campaign was possible. As Sorija against Dûsalan, bringing an end to Arphazân’s policy of in the days of Ogtaï, the Sorija could thwart attempts at large- non-involvement with the war in the north. It was a gamble, but scale Tumakveh naval intervention by distracting Narkuzîr’s fleet the king knew that there was no alternative: he must either use the with lightning raids against Bellazen or the Felayja. Because of its Sorija for what they were born for, or exterminate half the popu- length, the Bellakarian coast required more manpower to defend lation of Mardruak. Tragically for Bellakar, the die had already than Mardruak. been cast against Narkuzîr’s plan. All the same, the mutiny was largely a Sorijan affair. Most of While Narkuzîr, Haz-Kajtor and Ârûzôr made secret prepara- the civilian populace of Mardruak—Tedjin, Qarsag, Bellakaze tions for a coordinated naval campaign against Dûsalan, Um- and Bellanara—had no desire to bring on a war. Unfortunately, barean exiles in Nykkea were conspiring to sway the Sorija to join the terms of Arphazân’s peace had disarmed most of the cape’s in- their Southron Alliance against Gondor, and to join in the war habitants, concentrating political and military power within the that was making their Dûsalanian brethren so wealthy. The Exiles walls of its two Kadîr, one of which was now firmly under Sorijan rightly guessed what Narkuzîr and his governors were planning, control. Tumakveh troops could still be landed at Narîk-zadan, and were anxious that the Sorija not join the ranks of their foes. A but a movement of land forces westward from Hazaj Tollin could hostile Mardruak would cripple their efforts to make the South a easily be blocked by the mutineers’ new allies: the Tedjin of the sanctuary and refuge for their people. Zimrênzil region and others dwelling within the sphere of The plot was successful. In the spring of 981, even as Narkuzîr Dûsalan’s allies. was preparing to announce his intentions to his allies in Mar- Some headway in remedying this problem was made by druak, the Sorija of Nykkea with their Umbarean allies seized Thônuzîr, who in 948 succeeded Zâyunzîr as the lord of Hazaj control of the city. Haz-Kajtor was lynched by an angry mob. Into Tollin, having the full approval of the king and the recommenda- his shoes stepped Masul, one of the ringleaders of the mutiny. For tion of Zâyunzîr before his death. The loyal Sorijan captain was many years Masul had served as Haz-Kajtor’s admiral, and he invested at Hazaj Tollin by Narkuzîr’s second son, Minulzîr. At more than any understood the plight of his men. He had seen the Minulzîr’s prayer, Thônuzîr offered gold to the Aukuag tribesmen success of Lojnar and hoped to emulate it. of the Auz Hulja to attack and wear down the Tedjin of Zimrên- Masul’s first objective was to encourage the spread of the mu- zil. tiny throughout Mardruak. Most Sorijan veterans, already resent- To speed up the transformation of the mostly passive country- ful of their discharge, could be counted on for support. The fleet side into an active supporter of the mutiny, Masul invited these of Narîk-zadan was another matter. The conspirators had allies Tedjin to take possession of lands occupied by potential Tumak- among the Sorija there, but none of them were officers as in Nyk- veh sympathizers. In this way, any dissenters would either be kea. Being a longtime rival of Dûsalan, the prospect of a naval eliminated or forced to waste their energies fighting Tedjin. A fi- campaign with Tumakveh support outweighed the arguments of nal ingredient to the mix came with the appearance of a sizable ar- the Nykkean mutineers. A few ship companies attempted to rouse mada of Umbarean exiles from out of the south in the summer of their comrades against this but were quickly put down by Ârûzôr 986. and his captains. News of the seizure of Mardruak by allies of Umbar had fired Attempts at mutiny in Hazaj Tollin met with similar failure, the hopes of the Exiles (then sojourning among the Ârûwanâi of though some high-ranking captains were numbered among the Anbalukkhôr and the Thânî Hazad). A string of fortified havens conspirators. Their downfall was Thônuzîr, a very young and cou- along that cape would place them within striking distance of Gon- rageous captain, a man of Sorijan descent. He promptly discov- dorian shipping, and would therefore advance their cause. More- ered the plot by playing a deadly game with the conspirators, por- over, the end of Tumakveh indifference towards the northern war traying himself as an enemy of the Tumakveh, and disabled it by made Bellakar a threat that could not be ignored. Unless Narkuzîr warning his lord Zâyunzîr, who had relatives in Ûrêzâyan, of the and his warlike son could be kept in check, the odds of Ârûwanâ danger. In the next few days, the mutineers were arrested and reclamation of Umbar would be jeopardized. sent to Korlea where they would have no allies to liberate them. Joining forces with the Sorijan fleets of Lojnar and Masul, the Thônuzîr meanwhile was appointed chief captain of the Sorijan Umbareans assailed and captured the mighty Tumakveh haven of fleet. Ûrêzâyan in a surprise attack on the 19th of Tamun, 986. News of Irked by these gaps in their otherwise united front, Masul im- this shocking turn of affairs reached Nîlûlondê four days later. mediately sent messengers to Lojnar in Dûsalan, urging him to Stung by this disgrace, Narkuzîr’s valiant son begged leave of the support their cause and help the mutineers capture Narîk-zadan. king to lead an army at once to retake the city. But Narkuzîr re- Lojnar eagerly accepted this offer, hoping to make Narîk-zadan a mained silent, his face graven as stone, as though pondering the base for himself and his corsairs. Both Lojnar and Masul were grim crisis they had fallen into. Then at last he spoke. disappointed, however, when the fleet of Ûrêzâyan, apprised of “Arzagar my son, Sword of the Tumakveh, let the siege of the Sorijan revolt by Ârûzôr’s son, Narakhîn, who had escaped Ûrêzâyan be for others to conduct. For you I reserve a greater toil Narîk-zadan’s harbor before it was blockaded by the mutineers. and a more perilous, upon whose success the fate of Bellakar now Unprepared for so swift a counter-stroke (the rebels being un- hangs, or so I deem. The Sorija alone we can defeat, but against aware that the king had already been preparing to launch his cam- the ships of the Ârûwanâi allied to them we have not the strength paign against Dûsalan when the sedition broke out), the rene- for victory at sea, unless other aid should come.”

34 Realm of Bellakar “But what others are there to aid us?” Arzagar objected. “For rand. At first Othwellon was suspicious of this stranger who apart from our friends the Bozishnarod, we rule a land encircled spoke in the vulgar Adûnaic tongue of distant kings and ancient by Ârûwanâi.” alliances, but he sent word to Ciryandil nonetheless, and bade the “Verily,” answered the king. “But I spoke not of the ships of the Tumakveh prince remain in Umbar as his guest until the king Katedrala. Our quarrel is not theirs. I speak rather of the Men of should reply. Arzagar complied and spent the winter there, but Gondor, the Elendili, whom we once called our brothers.” begged the captain not to speak of his presence to any, fearing lest At this a hush fell over Narkuzîr’s court. Gondor? Though it the Ârûwanâi or their Southron allies should get wind of him and was known to all now that the king had purposed to turn the attempt to thwart his mission. Sorija against Umbar, most had thought this merely an attempt to Early in the spring, when the sea had grown clement for ships, a rid Bellakar of an unwanted nuisance, not a gesture of friendship messenger arrived in Umbar from Osgiliath, informing Othwellon towards the Dúnedain of the Westlands. Ever since Tarannon Fa- that the king would receive the prince. So Arzagar resumed his lastur of Gondor had broken troth with Barûthhîn, daughter of voyage upon a well-appointed ambassadorial vessel. During this Narkuzîr I, relations with the north had been cold. Most in Bel- final leg of the journey, the son of Narkuzîr asked the king’s mes- lakar who still called themselves Adûnâi took this rejection of senger to instruct him in the proper language and etiquette of the their alliance as the ultimate insult to their heritage. Who were the Dúnadan court. Arzagar had acquired a smattering of Quenya as Elendili to brand them Black Númenóreans? Why should the Tu- a child (a private tradition of the Tumakveh since the days of Za- makveh now degrade themselves by craving the aid of prideful garthôr, though in recent generations its teaching had fallen into people who had never deigned to help them in the past, but had disuse due to Bellakar’s estrangement from Gondor and the pres- returned friendship with outrage? sure of desperate times), but now he learned it aright, determined “Yes, Gondor,” Narkuzîr repeated. “It is a hundred years and to meet the Gondorian monarch as an equal. more since our house had dealings with the sons of Elendil; the Arzagar’s ship took haven in Osgiliath, city of kings, on 23 last was King Narkuzîr I, my namesake. But his need was not the Gwaeron, 987. The might and glory of that city far exceeded all need that now presses upon us. Have you forgotten the words that rumor of it that had ever reached Bellakar; for a moment, the Tu- Elendil spoke to our forefather Zagarthôr before the gates of the makveh prince imagined he had sailed to lost Númenor and now Dark Lord?” tread the glistening streets of Armenelos or Rómenna. But he did Then the king held aloft the ring by which Elendil promised to not forget the beauty of his own homeland nor the honor of his aid the Tumakveh against the shadow of Black Númenor, and its house. Arzagar strode proudly down the Hall of Kings where red jewel glittered before the uplifted eyes of all. Narkuzîr I, his sire of old, had walked. “The Elendili may be prideful, but they revere the memory of Before him sat Ciryandil upon his bejeweled throne, resplen- Elendil. For his honor at least they will aid us.” Then Narkuzîr set dent in his majesty. A herald announced Arzagar’s name and line- the ring upon Arzagar’s finger, charging him: “Go north, my son, age, as he had given it to Othwellon in Umbar. The prince be it through a sea of enemies, and say to the King of Gondor: kneeled and bowed his head in reverence. Then the king ad- ‘Macilion of Silmalondë bids you repay the debt of Elendil.’” dressed a greeting to him in the common tongue of the Westlands, “I will, father,” answered Arzagar, and took his leave of the gesturing to his herald to translate the salutation into classical king. Adûnaic in case the Tumakveh were unused to such speech. But Arzagar raised his hand, commanding the herald to be silent, and ARZAGAR AND CIRYANDIL returned his greeting in the High Eldarin tongue: (TA 986-988) A Ondóreva Aran Eärnilion, Anárion Elendiliono inyo, Númenórië Heru st On the 1 of Sumat, 986, Arzagar son of King Narkuzîr II Er- Elendilion, na anda Aranielya ar alcarinqua. vak of Bellakar secretly boarded a Bozishnara merchant vessel bound for Pelargir. Across a sea controlled for many leagues by O King of Gondor, Son of Eärnil, Descendant of Anárion Elendilsson, Ârûwanâi and their allies, the Tumakveh prince judged that his Lord of the Elendili of Númenorë, may your reign be long and glorious. mission would be more likely to succeed if he sailed under the flag of a neutral power. This would lengthen his journey, but Arzagar All who heard this were amazed that such words should come could see no other way of reaching Gondor unhindered. from the mouth of a Southron (as they thought him from his ap- In the course of his voyage, the disguised Tumakveh beheld pearance), but Arzagar said: “Why do ye marvel, Men of Gon- many shores and peoples he had never seen before except as dor? For I too am a Númenórean whose fathers rejected the vague names on Bellakarian maps in his youth. A wider world Shadow, as they do even now in a land far from yours.” opened before him, and he came to understand better the place of “Not all have forgotten the tale of your forefather, Macilion of his own country in the great war that was again brewing between Silmalondë,” the king responded, “though its memory be dark- north and south. He passed the Cape of Mardruak, now all but ened by tales of a different sort. For what cause have you jour- held by his enemies, pressing on northwards into the Bay of Um- neyed so far, Tarmacil son of Thorondil? And why do the Tumak- bar and the sea-walls of its great haven late in the year. veh seek the sons of Elendil?” In Umbar, Arzagar learned that the king who wore the Winged Then Arzagar removed the ring from his finger and asked that it Crown of Anárion was Ciryandil son of Eärnil. Eärnil had per- be shown to the king. “My father has sent me to say to you that ished in a storm off the Umbarean coast many years ago, and now Macilion of Silmalondë bids you repay the debt of Elendil.” Ciryandil carried on the legacy of the Ship-kings and the war Few who stood in that hall understood the meaning of those against the Ârûwanâi he had inherited from them. But what man- words; but Ciryandil, gazing intently at the ring and at Arzagar ner of man was this who now ruled the most powerful realm in answered: “How may I, as inheritor of that debt, fulfill it?” Middle-earth? What did he know or care about Bellakar, so many The Tumakveh prince then recounted to the king the deeds of leagues away? Would he answer the summons Narkuzîr had sent his household against the Tedjin, and of the Sorijan alliance with his son to make? the Umbarean exiles, and of their massing along the Cape of Mar- Trusting to fate, Arzagar revealed himself to Othwellon, the druak, and of the loss of Ûrêzâyan. As Arzagar spoke, Ciryandil Gondorian captain of the haven, declaring his name and his er- perceived that Mardruak was now a threat to Umbar as well as

35 Other Hands the Tumakveh, and that unless the Bellakaranî held the coastlands barking at Korlea and riding swiftly to Nîlûlondê. There he em- between that cape and the Bay of Tulwang, he could not prose- braced his anxious father, announcing to Narkuzîr the success of cute his war against the Southron Alliance in security. his mission. The king was overjoyed to learn of Arzagar’s valiant But when the prince had finished speaking, Ciryandil answered: deeds in on behalf of the Gondorian king, and listened intently to “I see your need, Tarmacil Tumakveh, and desire greatly the un- the counsels of war which the prince had achieved with Ciryandil. ion of our strength in the reduction of Mardruak. But we in Gon- Then Narkuzîr in turn recounted to Arzagar all that had befallen dor are already at war on another front, and we must attend to the in Bellakar during his absence. foe on our own doorstep before we may redeem our debt to Bel- With the aid of the Sorija, the Umbarean exiles, he said, had re- lakar.” pelled the king’s attempts to besiege Ûrêzâyan and now occupied “Who is this foe you speak of?” asked Arzagar, troubled at the much of the surrounding countryside. Hazaj Tollin and Narîk- thought of delay. zadan had suffered numerous attacks but had not fallen, and the Ciryandil answered: “He is Tallas Lengur, Stone King of Korb Bay of Tulwang remained free of the ships of their enemies, who Taskral that we call Amrûn, City of the Sunrise. He has dared to were unwilling to antagonize the Bozishnarod. Lojnar was still at assail our southern borders. Even now our troops are being mar- large, and his Sorija held Vulture Island, an atoll situated opposite shaled for a great battle in South Gondor. When this Haruze war- Narîk-zadan to the southwest, blocking the egress of its ships. lord is vanquished, we shall give thought to Mardruak.” But now the Tumakveh would have their revenge. Arzagar im- “Then I beg you,” interrupted the warlike prince, “to receive my mediately set to work preparing the forces of Bellakar for the sword-arm into your ranks, that I may hasten the downfall of this storm that would soon break upon its foes. He had little time to Stone King and the repayment of your debt. And if Tallas Lengur waste, for the day of Ciryandil’s coming was but three months dis- be not made of stone, you shall learn why the swords of the Tu- tant. The Sorija and their allies were by no means ignorant of makveh strike fear into all who worship the Shadow.” these preparations, but of Ciryandil’s armada they had no news Ciryandil accepted Arzagar’s service gladly, desiring to see of until it was too late. what mettle these southerners were made with whom he would The Gondorian fleet had never sailed so far south in such num- soon join forces. And as the cooling breezes of fall rendered the bers, always in the past confronted with a coastline of uncertain “Summer Lands” sufficiently tolerable for campaigning, the Tu- loyalty. But Arzagar’s deeds in Harondor had shown him a trust- makveh set off in the great king’s train from Osgiliath and crossed worthy ally; Bellakar would provide the Ship-king with reliable the River Poros into Harondor, battleground of kings. There harborage and provisioning for a naval adventure on an epic scale. Ciryandil’s forces broke the army of Korb Taskral, in a cutting of Ciryandil would not stop with Mardruak. His ships would pursue the Redwater Gorge called Taloc Passage, just above its conflu- the Umbarean exiles to the ends of Middle-earth so that their na- ence with the Khârurush, across whose wide waters stood the val power might be broken forever. Umbarean stronghold of Kadar an-Bêlabâr, whose mighty walls When the 12th day of Ishat came, the Tumakveh were ready. Arzagar was one day destined to overthrow. King Narkuzîr led his armies against Ûrêzâyan round both sides As he had boasted to the king in Osgiliath, the Tumakveh of the Urîd an-Abâr, forcing the Ârûwanâi to concentrate their prince’s sword-arm was not idle in that battle. Indeed, Arzagar strength on the land. Meanwhile, the fleets of Korlea and and the Bellakarian guardsmen who had sailed with him across Balkuzôr lay in readiness near Tarkhesh on the Kalz Filha, while the Sundering Sea fought with a fury that amazed even the those of Hazaj Tollin advanced along the eastern coast of Mar- mighty warriors of Gondor, knowing as they did that every stroke druak. But neither of these naval hosts were commanded by Arza- they dealt to the Gondorian king’s foes would bring his aid nearer gar. The warlike prince rode at once from the gates of Hazaj Tol- to Arzagar’s embattled homeland. Arzagar remained at the king’s lin at the head of the Tumakveh cavalry, composed mostly of Bel- side for the remainder of the campaign, as Ciryandil turned to the lanarod from the Auz Bekar and the Hulja Mountains. business of securing his gains and commanding the foundation of These Arzagar led round the foothills of the Rôthurush vale, new fortresses. Then, returning to Osgiliath, the Gondorian and where Joam once stood, avoiding Kes Ebb, to assail from their the Tumakveh debated how their enemies in Mardruak might be unprotected rear the Tedjin of Zimrênzil. A great battle was overthrown. fought at the oasis of Zimrênzil in which the Tumakveh prince It was decided upon to wait until the winter winds had sub- slew the kataj of the renegade Easterlings, driving them in confu- sided, making the long sea-passage to Bellakar less uncertain for sion into Mardruak. Arzagar pursued, hoping to force his prey Ciryandil’s fleet. The Tumakveh would strike the first blow, re- into the country round Sarnak Hor, where the sons of Dashan-Jal doubling their assault of Ûrêzâyan by land and sea so as to lure its could be counted on for support. The stratagem succeeded, and allies in Mardruak away from their havens. Then the Gondorian the remaining Tedjin foes were either slain or scattered. fleet would attack from the north, taking out Dûsalan beforehand Arzagar’s ploy now made it possible for troop transports from in order to prevent it from posing a threat on their rear. In concert Hazaj Tollin to land infantry in eastern Mardruak. These were led with this, Bellakarian land forces would advance from Narîk- by Thônuzîr, the lord of that city; again, the prince would not take zadan and Hazaj Tollin against the Tedjin allies of the Sorija, thus up the command of Thônuzîr’s men, but bade him advance to the completing the reconquest of Mardruak. walls of Nykkea and lay siege to “that nest of Sorijan vipers.” The day appointed for these things to take place was 12 Then Arzagar marshaled his horsemen and sped onward, mount- Lothron (Ishat) of the coming year. This would give sufficient ing the spine of the Auz Marda westwards toward Narîk-zadan. time for Ciryandil to gather his naval strength and Arzagar to Twice he fought with the allies of Dûsalan on that road, and twice voyage back to Bellakar and inform his father of their plans. routed them; but ever as his path was lifted up upon the backs of Then, taking leave of the Ship-king, the prince hastened to his the hills, Arzagar descried from afar the great war of ships that homeland by the same way he had come. was now raging off the cape to the south and west. Ciryandil had come. THE MARDRUAK CAMPAIGN Had the Sorija and the Umbareans realized their peril they (TA 988) would have holed up in their havens, but thinking they were going to a battle against Bellakaranî only, they released too much of Arzagar returned secretly to Bellakar on 7 Najam, 988, disem- their naval strength onto the open sea where it would be vulner-

36 Realm of Bellakar able to a superior force. Now they were caught between the fleets So most of the Exiles now spoke. But one among them, of the Tumakveh and of Gondor. The masts of Ciryandil’s ships Khêruzôr son of Nûluzîr of Dûsalan, thought otherwise. He had were like a forest of deadly spears, flying banners beautiful and been among the Exiles at Nykkea when the Mardruak campaign proud, and upon their decks stood marines and mariners skilled in began, and so had been spared his father’s fate. Withdrawing be- sea-warfare. The titanic clash was brief, the Sorija and Umbare- fore the Gondorian onslaught with Masul’s ships, Khêruzôr suc- ans not yet trapped turning for the open sea, while those deprived ceeded in reaching the safety of Kadar an-Khâradûn before Ciry- of escape fought their way to a watery death. andil’s fleet could catch him. (Masul was not so fortunate.) Now all the enemy’s havens were blockaded by sea and beset by Khêruzôr journeyed up the Balakurush to Zadan an-Adûn, pre- land. The labor of reducing these to submission Ciryandil and his senting himself before the throne of Zimrubâr, lord of An- Bellakarian allies undertook. But the King of Gondor dispatched a balukkhôr. division of his fleet to pursue the fugitive ships, being informed by “Dread Lord,” said the Umbarean, “the Nimruzîrî of Gondor messengers from the Tumakveh that the Gondorians would find and Bellakar have joined forces against your brethren in the paid Bozishnara merchant vessels anchored off the Cape of Bishra North. Craven that they are, these carrion-fowl prey first upon in Tulwang to see to their provisioning. Meanwhile Arzagar and the houseless and the exiled; but if the Ârûwanâi of Umbar should his cavalry reached the rock of Narîk-zadan and dispersed its be utterly defeated, they shall turn upon those that still have their would-be besiegers. The gates were opened to the victorious Tu- homes. To ignore them is but to put off the day when An- makveh prince, hailing him as Imruphazgân “the Conqueror.” balukkhôr is beset with foes who have grown strong from Thereafter he would carry that name into battle, proving time and Ârûwanâ carcasses. That day you can avert, Great King, if you again that its boast was not an empty one. hearken to my counsel. I am no beggar at your gates, but a stallion The reduction of Nykkea and Ûrêzâyan was a bloody affair, the spoiling for the race. Place your money on me, and I will win that defenders knowing that they would receive no mercy from the be- race, and the Ârûwanâi shall exalt your name to the stars!” siegers. Within three months, both strongholds were taken and Khêruzôr found favor in Zimrubâr’s sight as he unburdened to the Cape of Mardruak was purged of enemies. (Dûsalan had been the lord of Anbalukkhôr the need of his Umbarean countrymen sacked and destroyed by the van of Ciryandil’s fleet before the and his plans for avenging himself upon Ciryandil and the Tu- battle of Mardruak had begun.) What remained was a battle-torn makveh. Umbar, Khêruzôr explained, could not be recaptured coast, desperately in need of royal assistance. Fortunately, both unless the survivors of Mardruak, now refugees in Zimrubâr’s the Tumakveh and Gondorian monarchs now had a personal realm, were reunited with their kinsfolk in the north. These were stake in a stable and loyal Mardruak. To aid them in this under- concentrated in strongholds on the Bay and Cape of Umbar and taking, Ciryandil divided between himself and Narkuzîr the siz- thence along the coasts as far as the River Khârurush, sup- able war-chest of the Exiles which had been amassing ever since ported—some would say extorted—by their Southron allies. But their seizure of Ûrêzâyan. unless some means could be discovered of occupying the Tumak- Narkuzîr used much of this to reward his naval officers, espe- veh fleet, the southern Exiles could not hope to pass Mardruak. cially those of Sorijan descent from Hazaj Tollin, which he settled Two things were needful to achieve Khêruzôr’s design: a sea- upon Mardruak in place of the rebels. But Narkuzîr would not re- war and a land war, simultaneously directed against Bellakar. The peat the mistakes of his father, for now Mardruak had a purpose: naval front would be led by Zimrubâr in concert with the lords of to guard against the passage of Gondor’s enemies from out of the the Thânî Hazad. Without the mighty Gondorian fleet to aid South. Ciryandil promised to help subsidize this enterprise with them, the Bellakarian navy would be easy prey for the Ârûwanâi. annual payments to the Tumakveh for the maintenance of their Such a victory would demonstrate the power of Anbalukkhôr to sea-power. In this the Ship-king of necessity found himself emu- its northern neighbors. And for the Thânî Hazad there would be lating the survival tactics of the Exiles, who everywhere relied spoils and glory aplenty to bring home afterwards. upon the peoples of Haradwaith to sustain their war with Gondor. A synchronized distraction of Tumakveh land forces might be For the Tumakveh these were good tidings. Now their realm arranged with the Aukuag and other nomads of Haradwaith who would have peace and the resources to preserve it. ranged near to Bellakar. However, these tribes would not fight for The expeditionary fleet which Ciryandil had sent to hunt down free. Their ties with the Umbareans were based ever more bla- the vanquished returned to Bellakarian waters early in the month tantly on financial expediency, and the Exiles were becoming hard after the fall of Ûrêzâyan. Its admiral reported both successes and pressed to maintain their avarice. Zimrubâr was the king of a failures. The Sorijan chiefs, Lojnar and Masul, were slain, but wealthy nation; with his backing, contended Khêruzôr, the Exiles many of their followers had found refuge among the cities of Tul- would stand a fighting chance for a final, decisive union against wang and Anbalukkhôr, which the Gondorians had not the the Gondorian juggernaut. strength to assail. Many of Anbalukkhôr’s weaker southern Zimrubâr had his own motives for patronizing Khêruzôr’s am- neighbors, on the other hand, did not relish a confrontation with bitious scheme. Ever since the rise of the Tumakveh in Bellakar, this formidable foe, and refused to give sanctuary to the Umbare- Anbalukkhôr’s economic and political influence on the Bay of ans. Tulwang had become tenuous. The brief era of Tedjin rule over Bellazen had helped to restore that influence, due to the breakup AFTER MARDRUAK of the Tumakveh fleet and Joam-Tuv’s lack of experience in mari- (TA 988) time politics; but now, with Gondorian sponsorship of Bellakarian naval power, Ârûwanâ hegemony on the bay could be expected to The surviving Exiles’ hopes of using Mardruak as a central wane. Zimrubâr was determined not to let this come to pass. staging point for a reconquest of Umbar were shattered, and they He was also not unmoved by Khêruzôr’s passionate devotion to themselves were condemned to a life of resentful wandering. An the Umbarean cause. A restoration of the Exiles would bring Zim- entire generation might pass before they could again gather the re- rubâr great fame indeed. The Ârûwanâi of North and South might sources and manpower they needed to make another attempt on then see a new era of dominance, just as the Tumakveh had ex- their homeland—more distant than ever, now that Gondor was perienced in the first flowering of their realm. For dreams of a paying the Tumakveh to be its watchdog in the South. golden age, the lord of Anbalukkhôr would pay gold; and with a

37 Other Hands well-armed caravan to guard it, Khêruzôr departed Zadan an- had the cunning of Khêruzôr, Advocate of the Zâur an-Anî and Adûn, seeking the Burning Walk which would convey him friend of Anbalukkhôr, on their side. through the Aukuag lands of the Dune Sea. Khêruzôr appeared among the Exiles at Abârlôni on the south bank of the Khârurush in the summer of 996, having spent the THE SOUTHRON ALLIANCE past decade negotiating with various Aukuag and Jelut tribes in (TA 988-997) support of his scheme. He had visited the Oasis of Five Palms, and there had placated the haughty but shrewd Desul, the high In the summer of 988, while Ciryandil was crossing swords with chak (chieftain) of the Muargiz and much of Haruzan, with the the Sorija and Umbareans of Mardruak, bloody deeds were being gold of Anbalukkhôr, promising the Jelut leader yet more wealth perpetrated on the king’s newly-won eastern frontier in Haron- if he would consent to restrain his assault on Umbar until the dor. A struggle for power arose in Korb Taskral to replace the hoped-for return of the fleet of the southern Exiles. Although he Lengur dynasty that had perished in the Battle of Taloc Passage made no attempt to conceal his scorn for the precariousness of the the previous spring. Most of the would-be successors were Tallas Ârûwanâi’s situation, Desul saw no good reason to pass up an op- Lengur’s officers and officials, but the squabbling was resolved in portunity for personal enrichment, particularly when it was tied to a single night of murder and mayhem by Eben Akil, scion of the strategic advantage. Imocra, a backwater Haruze dynasty from the neighboring hill To Korb Taskral also Khêruzôr had journeyed, knowing that country of Chelkar. many Exiles had fled to its Adûnaic enclave of Târik an-Ârûrud. As Taskral apparent, Eben made peace with Gondor, allowing In the City of the Stone Kings, Khêruzôr got a better reception the Dúnedain to commence construction of a guarding fortress di- than in Desul’s camp. The Taskral himself seemed a bit mad. He rectly across the Khârurush from Korb Taskral, within sight of claimed to receive nocturnal visions and incubations from a name- the royal palace of the Stone Kings. Even as he sealed the docu- less Azhan, a guardian, a spirit long associated with the Imocra ments, Eben was in communication with the Muargiz and the family. Eben Akil revealed to Khêruzôr that it was at her prompt- Council of Exiles in what remained of Umbar. The Haradon prin- ing that he had joined the Southron Alliance, and that she prophe- cipals of this renewed alliance—the Haruze Imocra and the Jelut sied great victories to come. Muargiz—were determined to contest Ârûwanâ rule in Harad. Encouraged by these favorable omens, as well as the strength However, a role reversal was asserting itself. It was the Haradrim, and discipline of the Imocra armies, Khêruzôr completed his cir- not the Umbareans, who would now decide when, where, how cuit of the Exiles’ inland strongholds at Abârlôni, whence he in- and by whom the next war against Gondor was to be fought; and tended to mimic Arzagar’s deception of returning into the South it was the Men of Harad who would profit from it. Once lords of on a neutral merchant vessel. In Abârlôni and along the coasts to these subject peoples, the Ârûwanâi of Umbar found themselves Umbar, Khêruzôr took careful count of the numbers and disposi- treated as little more than their vassals and tools. At least they still tion of the forces available to the Council of Exiles, considering shared a common enemy. Fortunately for the Exiles, they now how they might most effectively be marshaled and deployed when their time came. He considered the Tumakveh defenses of Mar-

38 Realm of Bellakar druak and the Felayja with the same spirit of tactical calculation Kadar an-Khâradûn to reclaim their city from the Men of Gondor. as he sailed past the hostile coast. A dark wind of doom drove them northwards, so that within a Khêruzôr returned to the court of Zimrubâr from his long odys- week they had rounded Cape Bishra and beheld the coast of Bel- sey in the spring of 997, reporting to the Black Númenórean lord lazen. There the armada of the Exiles separated from the main all he had seen and achieved. Zimrubâr in turn told of his pro- fleet, turning west into Belegaer to elude the ships of the Bel- gress with the Thânî Hazad, saying that the westward-facing do- lakaranî, following the path that Zagarthôr of Nîlûlôni had taken minions of Khâradûnê, Zimrathâni and Elorna would join in their in the days of the Last Alliance. Zimrubâr’s fleets meanwhile expedition. When Zimrubâr inquired about the time set for the struck coastward, hungry for battle. prosecution of these great undertakings, the Advocate of the Zâur Naval scouts and watchers upon beacon towers alerted the de- an-Anî replied with esoteric confidence. “When the Haradrim fenders of Bellazen of the approaching peril, and soon a sea-battle have consulted their Spirits, they will send a messenger. I pray was joined off the Tarkhesh peninsula. The Ârûwanâi greatly out- only that their Spirits can also count the ships of the Elendili and numbered the defenders, allowing Zimrubâr to further divide his post a watch on their harbors. If their message carries this wis- forces north along Bellazen and east to intercept the fleets of Kor- dom, we shall surely drive our enemies with before us with blood lea and Balkuzôr. The lord of Anbalukkhôr meanwhile routed the and flame.” guardians of Tarkhesh, assailing its haven so that the peninsula could be used as a staging ground for greater clashes to come. THE LAST ARMADA The first round of the conflict closed with the Ârûwanâi holding (TA 997-1012) the upper hand. The swiftness of the Anbalukkhôrian advance prevented the Tumakveh fleets on the Kalz Filha from reaching The spirits of the Haradrim, or the lords of the Southron Alli- open waters where their ships could assume an effective attack ance, were in no hurry to make any dark pronouncements. Fifteen formation, forcing them into defensive posturing that left their years passed without any oracle of war—visionary or otherwise— comrades in Tarkhesh unaided. The navies of the Thânî Hazad reaching the court of Zimrubâr of Anbalukkhôr. But Khêruzôr meanwhile raced northwards against the beacon fires, ignoring had more than enough work on his hands to keep him occupied. the villages and towns of southern Bellazen in favor of the richer The task of locating, gathering and outfitting the southern Exiles, offerings of Ûrêzâyan. They failed to reach that port with the ad- dispersed over more than a thousand miles of coastline, was formi- vantage of surprise, but they did succeed in occupying its fleet. dable. Also, periodic journeys had to be made into the Dune Sea By now, the hoof-beats of errand riders were thundering across and the Auz Bekar in order to reassure the Ârûwanâi of their no- the Lôkhurush vale, speeding news of the black ships of An- mad allies’ commitment. The same had to be done with the allied balukkhôr to King Arzagar in Nîlûlondê. But when they had won ports of the Thânî Hazad, which had periodic troubles of their through the passes of the Urîd an-Abâr, the messengers were con- own to deal with. fronted with a new peril: Aukuag horsemen were busy ravaging During all this time the realm of the Tumakveh flourished, hav- the country round about the Tumakveh capital. Having no cause ing at last found the peace Bellakar needed to heal the wounds of to expect this sudden assault from the Auz Bekar—and no more than a century of warfare and oppression. The fleet of King mounted auxiliaries at hand to counter the nomads; for Khibil Narkuzîr Ervak grew in size and strength under the patronage of Êphalak, Arzagar’s chief source of cavalry, had already fallen to Gondor, but thus far it had not met its equal at sea. Occasional the raiders—Arzagar was compelled to endure a siege, while Sorijan raids from Anbalukkhôrian Tulwang were a minor nui- picked Tumakveh knights attempted to run the Aukuag gauntlet, sance and were easily contained. In 1010, the venerable Tumak- racing their swift stallions north in hopes of finding their desert al- veh monarch died, leaving his throne to an older and wiser, but no lies of the Hulja Mountains as yet uncompromised. less valiant, Arzagar. Fortunately for the Bellakaranî of the Kadîr, neither the Au- th In the second year of Arzagar’s reign, on the 20 of Najam, a kuag in the south nor the Jelut now assailing Mardruak from the spirit of the Haradrim finally spoke to Khêruzôr, Advocate of the wastes of the Kes Hilja were skilled in or inclined to siege warfare. Zâur an-Anî. Beneath a dark moon, a winged shadow alighted Their task was to raid and pillage and move fast, so that the Tu- upon the balcony of Khêruzôr’s chambers in the palace of Zadan makveh forces (especially their coastal defenses) would be dis- an-Adûn. The guards and hounds in the courtyard around the pal- tracted while the naval campaign proceeded apace. This meant ace screamed and ran in terror, and all inside shivered with a cold, that the Aukuag did not remain long in the Vale of Nîlûlondê, but dark fear, but he heard them not. Roused from sleep by what quickly moved on westwards against the Felayja. This allowed sounded like the distant melody of a lute, the sorcerer wondered Arzagar to lift the brief siege of his city and begin pursuing the en- whether he dreamed. But the darkness spoke to him words that he emy with every man who could be horsed. Learning of the An- had long awaited: “Does the messenger of the Shining Lady find balukkhôrians on the Bay of Tulwang, he detailed the pick of the you at rest, son of Nûluzîr? How can you sleep when the hour ap- footmen of the garrison of the capital south to strengthen Korlea, pointed has arrived? This same word has been brought to the Balkuzôr and Esmer. swords of the desert. But be quick, King’s Man, lest the Muargiz As the king set out in pursuit, the Aukuag began terrorizing the rob you of your victory.” Felayja, drawing many ships of Hazaj Tollin and Mardruak to the Then the winged shadow darted away from Khêruzôr into the defense of its towns. Meanwhile, the heartland of Mardruak was night, as horses screamed in the stables below and two maddened under attack by the Jelut, riding down out of the Stone Fields servants plunged themselves into cook-fires to keep the darkness east of Dûsalan and bypassing Zimrênzil to strike at the villages from devouring them. The Advocate did not understand the mes- of the coasts. All things now played into the hands of Zimrubâr, senger’s warning about the Muargiz, but he knew that he must who had captured Tarkhesh and was engaging the main fleet of not waste time pondering the riddle. At once Khêruzôr summoned the Tumakveh in the close waters of the Kalz Filha while the the palace servants to wake the king, but he seized a trumpet from smaller ships the Tumakveh had stationed in their northern wa- one of the guards at the castle gate and blew upon it, rousing all ters were caught up in a deadly dance with the Thânî Hazad within hearing and crying out: “The hour is come!” forces, outsailing them but unable to strike a deadly blow against Within a fortnight word had spread to all the havens of the Ex- their superior numbers. iles. On 3 Manjaz, 1012, the last armada of the Umbarean exiles Whatever the outcome of this strange war in Bellakar was to be, set sail with the fleets of Anbalukkhôr and the Thânî Hazad from 39 Other Hands it had succeeded in its pretext: the northward advance of the Last THE BATTLE OF CORALS Armada of the Exiles. In the month of Manjaz, nomadic urdwan (TA 1012) horsemen of the Southron Alliance swept away the Gondorian outposts covering the approaches to the haven of Umbar, while Confident of victory because of his numbers, Zimrubâr sailed the forces of the Council and their Haruze allies stormed and cap- out from Tarkhesh to meet the Tumakveh navy on the last day of tured a number of watchtowers maintained by the Ship-kings on Manjaz, the day that was to mark the Battle of Corals. The lord of Umbar’s ocean coast. Late in the month, as all of the Gondorian Anbalukkhôr arranged his fleet in a pincer formation, too broad captain’s attention focused on the landward threat, the vanguard for Arzagar encompass, so that the advancing Bellakaranî would of Khêruzôr’s fleet attacked and captured the undermanned Gon- have no choice but to allow themselves to be flanked by the Ârûwanâi. Undaunted, the son of Narkuzîr Ervak boldly formed dorian fortresses of Durgal and Ardhúvir guarding the opening of the ships of Korlea into a spearhead, commanding those of the Bay of Umbar. They engaged and scattered the Gondorian Balkuzôr to hold back as an auxiliary when the Anbalukkhôrian squadrons that sailed out to meet what they thought was a pirate pincers closed upon him. raid and thereby opened the entire bay and coast to the unchal- It was a daring strategy—a desperate one, thought most—but it lenged passage of their arms. Khêruzôr himself sailed with a fast held one advantage that Zimrubâr could not cancel out: the wind squadron to Abârlôni on the Khârurush, where he reported the was in the north, behind the Tumakveh. This would enable Arza- deeds of the southern Exiles and urged those of the Sakal an-Khâr gar’s ships to be propelled into the heart of the Ârûwanâ center to take ship with him and sail to war along the great bay. without the use of oar-banks, allowing them to fight at close quar- At Abârlôni, Khêruzôr learned the answer to the Shining Lady’s ters between the Anbalukkhôrian dromunds and prevent them riddle. The Ârûwanâi there informed him that a season ago Eben from using their own rowers to maneuver. For this reason, Arza- Akil of Korb Taskral had invaded the lands of Lurmsakûn to the gar set his iron-beaked triremes in the van. If he could penetrate east of his realm. This move away from their frontiers had led the the enemy’s center, he might break straight through and thence, Gondorians to relax their vigilance in the south. Even a portion of turning, fall upon Zimrubâr’s rear. their great ships had gone away staging a ceremonial visit to dis- Trumpets rang out challenges, drums rolled and battle began. tant Cardolan and the Elven lands beyond. Of late emissaries had At first the speed of Arzagar’s advance had its intended effect, dis- come to Abârlôni from Desul of the Muargiz, commanding them ordering the Anbalukkhôrian formation. The tactic was not with- to make ready to support him in final battle with the Ship-kings. out heavy loss for Arzagar, however, as many of Zimrubâr’s Even as the Last Armada sailed, the chak had been dragging siege dromunds snagged the Korlean gunwales with grappling hooks, engines across the desert, bringing war up to the walls of Umbar slowing their cast like flies in the newly-spun webs of a patient itself for the first time in a generation. spider. Those caught were eventually trapped in a forest of hostile Determined not to be subordinated to the will of the Jelut chief- masts and boarded by fierce Ârûwanâ marines. Meanwhile the tain, Khêruzôr urged his northern brethren to gather all their jaws of the Black Númenórean fleet closed fast behind the Kor- strength and join him, using the swift road of the sea to beat Desul leans, forcing the Men of Balkuzôr into action. to the prize. If the Ârûwanâi held the fortresses along the inner But some of Arzagar’s ships passed through the gauntlet into coasts of the bay, the Muargiz would have to treat with them with open water and prepared to turn for a counter-attack. Then the greater respect in the siege of the haven that must follow. Anxious Tumakveh king understood why Zimrubâr had taken no precau- to bring this all about, Khêruzôr’s fleet ferried the Exiles back to tions to thwart Arzagar’s spearhead. Not far off, hitherto con- the Cape of Umbar, landing on the Azrarôth promontory on the cealed from Arzagar by the mass of the Anbalukkhôrian wall, lay 9th of Vetrashu. There they met with an assembly of the Exiles ships of the Thânî Hazad, many ships waiting to finish off what- who held the northeastern coast of the bay and commenced the la- ever Korlean vessels managed to penetrate the king’s center. bor of reducing the remaining Gondorian garrisons. These had anchored behind the Tarkhesh peninsula, hidden from Meanwhile in Bellakar, the tide had turned. On land, Arzagar’s the Bellakaranî, until they could be shielded by the fleet of An- defense received much-needed relief from the cavalry levies of the balukkhôr. Now they closed in for the kill. Auz Hulja, who had remained for the most part faithful to the Tu- Even Arzagar Imruphazgân’s heart failed him, his fleets out- makveh. Led by the Izindubêth, a successor to Imrathôr and numbered and without hope of rescue. But as he made ready to leader of the adherents of the True Faith, the Huljan horsemen die bravely, sword in hand, his despair turned to unlooked-for joy. rode west into Mardruak on their own initiative, defeating or Away to the east, just off the Cape of Balkuzôr, he saw a sight driving off the Jelut raiders. The Izindubêth then led his forces that brought him hope—another fleet, hastening towards the bat- south into the Felayja, where they were joined to Arzagar’s tle, its ships flying the banners of Bozisha-Dar. The Men of Raj, troops. who had always stood aloof in the wars of Gondor and Umbar, Sweeping aside the remaining nomads (who had little desire to had drawn the sword at last. face a mounted army greater than their own), Arzagar made a cir- The Bozishnarod had never possessed many warships despite cuit of southern Bellakar until he reached Korlea. There he took their martial reputation, their interest in the sea being mainly mer- personal command of his fleet, leaving the Izindubêth to pursue cantile. Nevertheless, the Katedrala maintained a fleet sufficient to the Aukuag into the Auz Bekar and see to the liberation of Khibil safeguard its interests upon the Bay of Tulwang. Who controlled Êphalak. Arzagar Imruphazgân then issued a challenge to the lord Umbar was not a matter of great consequence to them, and so, of Anbalukkhôr, daring him to allow the Korlean and Balkuzôrian unlike Bellakar, they had remained neutral in this largely fleets to meet his ships in the midst of the Kalz Filha, so that a fair Númenórean affair. The position of Anbalukkhôr on the Azra’m- Miraz, on the other hand, had been a Bozishnara concern ever fight might be joined. Eager for the glory that would accrue to since the War of the Renegades in the Second Age. The Men of him in such a triumph, Zimrubâr accepted the challenge, permit- the Dar would fight to keep Zimrubâr’s fleet away from their ting his enemies to array themselves in battle-line upon the bay. front doorstep. The winds of fortune had shifted for Arzagar Imruphazgân and the Bellakarian fleets, and the Ârûwanâi did not like it. Zim- rubâr’s auxiliaries from the Thânî Hazad turned tail and fled the battle, and together with the Bozishnarod, the Tumakveh king drove in upon the left pincer of the Anbalukkhôrian fleet, where 40 Realm of Bellakar its depth of ships was shallowest. The rescuers broke through the his warriors cast a stone to strike down its captain. But Therindel, ring to the Men of Balkuzôr and the surviving Korleans. The con- the wife of the slain knight, held the defenders to their work, and fusion of Zimrubâr’s hosts became general and the rout began. became known as the Widow of Umbar as she walked the battle- Sluggish and not very maneuverable because of its overwhelm- ments in black robes. ing mass, the Anbalukkhôrian armada was driven by the unex- In the fall, word came to Khêruzôr of the defeat of Zimrubâr, pected counter-attack against the great coral reefs that gave the who had retreated to his ports in Tulwang. Then too came Ciry- Kalz Filha its name. Many an Ârûwanâ galley perished amid those andil of Gondor, and with him three mighty sons and a fleet of deadly shoals, so that in after years mariners on the Bay of Tul- great ships. The Exiles had great captains also, enough to hold the wang would speak of this place as “Zimrubâr’s Graveyard.” That coasts against Gondor, but not enough ships or men to drive them was not entirely accurate, since the lord of Anbalukkhôr did not away. himself perish in that catastrophe, but fled with the main body of So there was stalemate. In 1013, the second year of the war, his fleet for the safety of the Tarkhesh peninsula, where the allies Ciryandil’s youngest son lost an arm in fighting with corsairs of that remained to him helped screen the Anbalukkhôrian retreat. the Thânî Hazad, come north now that the coasts of Bellakar were Arzagar, however, restrained his ships from further pursuit, held against them. Ciryaher, the prince-heir of Gondor, sailed perceiving that the Bozishnarod would not follow the Bellakaranî against these reavers, even taking port in Zimrathâni. But the seas beyond the confines of their bay. The Ârûwanâi had been de- could not be made secure. feated, and never would such a host of Black Númenor again be In the summer, Khêruzôr led ships of the Exiles in raids against mustered, though all the havens of the Southlands be emptied of the coasts of Arnor, while Zimrubâr’s captains made sport along ships. With the help of the Dar, Arzagar had conquered once the shores of Gondor and Bellakar. This was no substitute for a again. victory of fleets that they could not achieve, and Arzagar punished them for it, raiding south against Tulwang and sinking ships in THE FATE OF THE EXILES their harbors. On one of these raids, Zimrubâr was mortally (TA 1012-1016) wounded, and the Bellakarian could at last claim some revenge for their sufferings at his hands. When Desul Muargiz rode within sight of the walls of Umbar at The third year came, and weariness set in amongst all save the the head of armies of the Southron Alliance late in the spring of Muargiz. Desul used the war wisely. He gained ever-increasing 1012, he found much of the surrounding countryside and many of control over the Exiles as their strength lessened, and his increas- its strongholds under the control of Khêruzôr of Dûsalan and the ing prestige drew ever more Haruze to his cause. The Jelut united Ârûwanâ exiles. It troubled Desul that allies he wished to ceased making raids on Mardruak, and Arzagar’s northern fron- treat as vassals had found strength unforeseen to seize ground he tier was secured. However, the king of Bellakar had no strength had chosen for his forces, but he was heartened at the surprising to make a counter-stroke across the Kes Nilja or the Stone Fields. sight of black sails flecking the Bay of Umbar. So he met with He could only send a few token ships and soldiers to Umbar by Khêruzôr and the Council on a hill overlooking the haven and the dangerous sea route. In the great haven, men living for two praised their achievements, but not without cautions and conde- years on scant rations sickened and died in numbers, even the scension. mighty among the Dúnedain. The Widow of Umbar returned to In the end, he rose with his generals and chaks and made to dis- Pelargir blinded by a fever but unbowed in her walk, and Ciry- miss the Umbareans: “You have done well to prepare my way. andil himself commanded the garrison now. Now look to your fortresses and ships and let the Muargiz do So it was that Minulzîr, brother of King Arzagar Imruphazgân, their part.” was witness in Umbar when the Southrons made their greatest But Khêruzôr answered him, saying, with a wave of his hand to stroke. The garrison, led by Ciryandil, sortied against an assault of the west: “We will return to our strongholds, and still more we fire towers manned by knights of Pezarsan. By the light of the shall take, until all this bay is ours once again. And thus, by the flames, the king was struck in the hip by a Haruze arrow and bled swords of the Adûnâi shall Desul Muargiz be permitted to con- to death in his armor as he directed the battle. Minulzîr helped tinue his siege on our behalf, whose haven this is.” carry him into the haven, and brought the report of the king’s Desul was rankled by these words, unbefitting of one inferior to death to Arzagar in the winter. him in power and prestige, and the closest of his captains put Khêruzôr himself never learned of this victory, for he had joined hand to their scimitars. But the Advocate of the Zâur an-Anî a raid on the Mouths of Anduin and was burned alive in a sinking checked the Southron’s rage with these words: “We look for your ship within sight of Pelargir. Desul, of all the leaders who had be- glorious victory over the Nimruzîrî, your enemy and ours; it gun the war, saw himself as its master. In the fall, as Arzagar ex- would be unfortunate if, by some failure of our vigilance, the changed letters of truce with Anbalukkhôr, Desul declared him- Ship-king were to land an army upon our coasts and lift your self Autarb of Haruzan and the Exiles his vassals. They had little leaguer, Desul Muargiz. We shall not fail in that task.” hope, but no lack of desperate courage. One of their knights mur- The Jelut chieftain’s face grew cold at this shrewd reply, but dered the Muargiz chak as he held court in his camp near Umbar. not for nothing was he thought the wisest of the chieftains of his Hatred and turmoil kept the war going for two more seasons, day. He spoke to Khêruzôr coolly, saying: “Look to your ships, in- but no nation had treasure or ships or spirit enough to continue. deed, Man of the Farthest South. You will need many more of Ciryaher, the new king of Gondor, could only promise Arzagar them and all your courage to hold these waters. The Ship-king his continued good faith, and Arzagar could only promise friend- will come, and your right to the haven will be tested by a judge ship and gratitude to Gondor’s kings. Anbalukkhôr and Korb sterner than myself.” Taskral, little realizing how weakened their enemies were, both In the end, both the scribes of the King’s Men and of the Ha- accepted truce offers. radrim recorded the scene. Never again in that age did their peo- Little had been gained, as anyone could tell. But if a scribe had ples rise so high in challenge to the might of Gondor. For, as they taken count from Korb Taskral to the shores of Mûmakan, he spoke, Ciryandil was mustering his fleet, even as Arzagar sternly would have found little left of the Black Númenórean bloodlines, mustered his soldiers to the cleansing of his realm. But the siege of so carefully tended for a millennium. As the Tedjin Wars had Umbar was made and lasted through the summer. There were he- drained Bellakar of its older Adûnaic heritage, so had the Last Ar- roes aplenty on all sides. Desul held the haven in close siege, and mada drained the inheritance of the Ârûwanâi. The next millen- 41 Other Hands nium of the Third Age would see the triumph of the traditions of Kadar an-Bêlabâr, last great stronghold of the Ârûwanâi upon Tar-Palantir and Elendil, of the doomed Tar-Míriel and Anárion, Harnen. While it stands, our foes will be in a position to fall upon at least for a time. our rear as we march against Talasc Imocra. But if the Tumakveh will besiege this place, I know that I need fear no trouble from THE VICTORY OF HYARMENDACIL that quarter.” (TA 1016-1050) “If the fall of Kadar an-Bêlabâr be your will,” responded Arza- gar, “we shall perform it.” The truce of 1016 changed nothing. After nearly a century of With Ciryaher or Gondor and the Taskral marshaling their war and conquest, the Ship-kings of Gondor were still no nearer troops at opposite ends of the Harnen, Zâyan an-Khârurush to controlling the Sakal an-Khâr or the Bay of Umbar than Eärnil swelled with forces equal in magnitude to those that fought there after his seizure of the haven in 933. A mere semblance of peace in the time of Ar-Pharazôn’s great invasion. The armies met in the settled upon Haradwaith for the next two decades as the great Blacksand Vale, some leagues west of Kadar an-Bêlabâr, and powers of North and South prepared for the next round of hostili- fought there a titanic battle in which Talasc perished. Much of ties. These broke out in 1039, when King Ciryaher defeated the Ciryaher’s victory at Blacksand was due to the failure of the Ex- Exiles of Abârlôni and occupied their haven. Ciryaher’s hopes of iles and the Jelut to show up in time to support the Imocran host. pursuing his advantage were shattered, however, by a Nûrniag in- Pre-arrangement underlay this tardiness, his erstwhile allies eager vasion of Harondor. But the king retained control of Abârlôni as a to punish the Taskral for his treachery at the Oasis of Five Palms; foothold on the south bank of the Harnen, renaming it Ramlond. but the Tumakveh siege of Kadar an-Bêlabâr played a role as Six years later, the dormant Southron Alliance was revived un- well. der a new warlord: Talasc Imocra, son of Eben Akil of Korb This city had arisen as a military colony of Númenor in the Taskral. Under the inspiration of the Shining Lady, the ruthless wake of the War of the Renegades in 2281. Named after Tar- Talasc massacred the “old guard” of the alliance’s vacillating Ancalimon, a colossal bronze statue of that monarch still towered Muargiz leadership at the Oasis of Five Palms in 1045. Even the in the midst of the city’s main square, a memorial to the First King Exiles were afraid of this cold-blooded fanatic, and some began to of the Ârûwanâi. Sailing up the Harnen in their ships of war, the abandon their cause in hopes of accommodation with Gondor. As Bellakaranî now came to overthrow those mighty walls and re- reports from his subjects in Harondor reached him in Osgiliath, quite Ancalimon’s latter-day followers for the evils their race had Ciryaher sensed that a day of reckoning was fast approaching. brought upon the Southlands. In this herculean labor, the Tumakveh were aided by siege en- Born in 899, Ciryaher had lived out most of his life in the gines and crews lent them by Ciryaher at Ramlond. Arzagar him- shadow of this war. He had helped his grandfather take the haven self did not participate in the siege, but sat upon his throne, al- in 933 and he had seen his father die before its walls in 1015. His ways within the sight of his men, and gave wise counsel to Anîzîr only hope for final victory, he reasoned, was to gamble, as Eärnil his son. As they flung themselves into battle, the Bellakaranî had, that his sea power would keep his armies fed long enough to would point at the worn and tarnished colossus of Bêlabâr and force a decisive battle. Knowing he would need all his strength taunt their adversaries, saying “Behold the great conqueror! But and still more for such a campaign, Ciryaher sent heralds to his al- ours is greater!” lies, bidding them send him whatever aid was in their power. The siege pressed on into the next month, while Ciryaher left When Ciryaher’s emissary to Bellakar arrived at Nîlûlondê in the carnage of Blacksand for the final showdown with the Jelut the spring of 1049, he beheld an aging King Arzagar. After he had and the few remaining exilic lords not ensconced by the Tumak- delivered Ciryaher’s message, the old conqueror nodded his head veh at Bêlabâr. This took place at Kruk Fedalk in the desert east solemnly. “So we come to it at last; the great battle of our time in of Umbar. Once again, Ciryaher had the mastery, and only a few which all things shall stand or perish. Tell your king to look for days after the battle, Tumakveh errand riders came to report the the masts of the Bellakaranî at Ramlond.” fall of Kadar an-Bêlabâr. Ciryaher’s victory was now total, and he Ciryaher was glad of the news, but when the Bellakarian ships named himself Hyarmendacil, “South-victor.” entered the harbor of Ramlond in the autumn of that year he was The Umbarean war had been won one hundred and seventeen overcome with amazement; for at the head of the fleet, upon the years after it had begun. The dramatic triumph of Ciryaher Hyar- deck of the Tumakveh flagship, sat Arzagar Imruphazgân on his mendacil’s forces at Blacksand, Kruk Fedalk and Kadar an- golden throne, his son Anîzîr at his side. Arzagar the Conqueror Bêlabâr (thereafter known simply as “Ancalimon’s Town”) por- had returned to Harondor to fight at Ciryaher’s side, though four tended years of peace and prosperity to come. Korb Taskral os- score years and eight weighed down his craggy brow. tensibly remained independent, but in fact became a satellite of At once the Gondorian king came aboard Arzagar’s ship to Gondor and was and was known thereafter by its Gondorian greet his friend and ally. “What marvel is this?” said Ciryaher. name of Amrûn. The future of the Southlands now belonged to “Does the Victor of Mardruak and Kalz Filha seek more victories Gondor and its allies. still?” “Whatever glory is to be won from this war shall be yours, THE RETURN OF THE SORIJA Ship-king,” answered Arzagar. “I come to repay the debt that Ma- (TA 1050-1235) cilion of Silmalondë owes to the son of Ciryandil, who saved the The aura of invincibility and affluence enjoyed by Gondor and realm of my father from ruin. My arm cannot wield blade as it its allies under Hyarmendacil remained strong during the reign of once did, so I have brought with me another to wield it for me.” his son, Atanatar Alcarin the Glorious. “But Atanatar loved ease Then Anîzîr drew his sword and offered the hilts to Ciryaher. and did nothing to maintain the power that he had inherited, and “Receive this blade into your service, Great King, and assign to it his two sons were of like temper. The waning of Gondor had al- a share in the labors to come.” ready begun before he died, and was doubtless observed by its Ciryaher accepted the blade and answered: “There are many enemies (RotK.325).” great deeds to be done in this war. But since you have come with Bellakar began to feel the first effects of this decline during the ships, I shall choose a task suited to your strength. There is city, final decades of Atanatar’s rule. Throughout the 12th century,

42 Realm of Bellakar Gondor’s fleet shrank, as there were no powerful foes for it to Nevertheless, Sakalkhâd applied himself to the task with great face. At the dawn of the 13th century, the increasing importance of resolve, reordering Bellakar’s navy on Sorijan lines—small squad- transcontinental trade, particularly the traffic in exotic luxury rons dispersed at regular intervals along the coast beside beacon- goods passing through Near Harad, encouraged Gondor’s mer- towers which could swiftly muster neighboring flotillas at the first cantile interests to shift the kingdom’s military attention away sign of trouble, rather than a few fleets concentrated in the larger from the sea. Monies that would have been spent on the fleet sub- ports (an arrangement which hampered their ability to repulse sidized instead the powerful merchant-princes of Haruzan and sudden threats to towns and villages located far from the major Lurmsakûn in their efforts to keep the caravan routes from the cities). By this means Sakalkhâd secured Bellazen and the Felayja Ered Harmal free of Variag and urdwan interference. while further strengthening the coastal defenses along the Bay of The reduction of naval finance resulting from this shortened the Tulwang. effective southward reach of the Gondorian fleet. More pointedly, The Tumakveh prince launched some successful forays against it virtually ended Gondorian patronage of the Tumakveh navy, the Tulwang coast, but these served to intensify rather than blunt thus inviting a resurgence of piracy along the Cape of Mardruak. Sorijan reprisals, culminating in the wholesale sack of Balkuzôr in For a long time this corsairy, which preyed upon the seaways be- 1231. Simultaneous efforts by the Bozishnarod to assail Tulwang tween Umbar and the Bay of Tulwang, was virtually indistin- by land met with signal failure. Between the Mardruak corsairs guishable from the maritime policing activities of local Tumakveh and the Sorija, Bellakar and its allies were simply outmatched. authorities—particularly those of Nykkea—whose custodianship of the coasts became more proprietary as royal monies once desig- THE CAPTAIN OF SHIPS nated for their use dried up. (TA 1235-1257) In Narîk-zadan, the local Tumakveh authorities were more active against pirates. In answer to its governor, Atej Mazarek, When Sakalkhâd became king in 1235, he sent his brother Ka- many Sorija who had been settled there in the time of Narkuzîr darzagar north to seek aid from Gondor. Atanatar was now dead, Ervak gladly took advantage of the money to be had from taking and his son Narmacil ruled in his stead. Since the time of the part in counter-measures emanating from Nîlûlondê. Atej Maza- Ship-kings, the heir to the Winged Crown had always held lord- rek tried to act as the protector of all Mardruak, but it was a too ship over Gondor’s fleets until the day of his accession. So Nar- great a task. Other towns did not take kindly to his efforts, as macil had done under Atanatar his father. Narmacil was a weak many of them were the very perpetrators of the deeds Atej sought and corrupt man, and had done little to combat smugglers and to suppress. corsairs in his time as Captain of Ships. However, he was, at least, For the most part, the depredations of these potentates were aware of the situation of Gondor’s southern allies, and was sympa- confined to the extortion of “protection tariffs” for safe passage thetic to young Kadarzagar’s pleas for assistance against the around the cape; only those who refused to pay suffered violent Sorija and the Mardruak pirates. seizure of their cargoes. For the bullied merchants, such corrup- But Narmacil had no son with whom to entrust the command of tion had become an accepted fact of sea travel, so that many years his fleets. Both he and his younger brother Calmacil, who exer- had to pass before their complaints, supported by Atej Mazarek, cised that office in the presumed interregnum following Narma- began to elicit more than nominal responses from the Tumakveh cil’s ascension to the thrown, had been tied in with the Arbitrers, a court. political faction linked to spreading Gondor’s sway eastward By the 1220s, the success of Mardruak corsairy had found across Near Harad, seeking power and riches in the Easterling bolder emulators. The wealth that the Gondorian peace of the past realms beyond the Ered Harmal. The Arbitrers, always hostile to century had brought to the Azra’m-Miraz enabled its cities to Bellakar and other “seaward” interests, had been disgraced in the amass sufficient strength to break the shackles of economic and eyes of Gondor’s nobility after an independent military expedition political dependence on their southern neighbor, Anbalukkhôr, its created by them had been destroyed at Calterc Prairie in the Chey prestige already tarnished by the Battle of Corals in 1012. Exul- lands in 1224. tant in their newfound freedom, but unable to forge a league of The king’s brother now counseled caution in the disposition of common interest, these fiercely independent port-towns became the realm’s military resources. In the aftermath of Calterc Prairie, magnets for ambitious Sorijan mariners eager to return to a life of all of the high plains of central Endor were aflame with war. Re- freebooting. ports came of new dangers upon Gondor’s northeastern frontier, Enjoying complete support from their mother-cities, the aggres- of Easterling raiders and Variag rampages and priests who wor- sive and organized Sorijan fleets soon had a stranglehold on all shipped fire and darkness. Threats loomed on the eastern horizon sea-traffic passing through the Bay of Tulwang and the Bellazen beyond the Sea of Rhûn, as well as on the borders of Lurmsakûn. coast, thus becoming a serious threat to Bozisha-Dar as well as to In these circumstances, the fate of far away Bellakar would clearly Bellakar. The dramatic success of these reavers spurred the Mar- take second place in the mind of the Gondorian king. druak corsairs to yet bolder ventures against the Felayja and even Yet there was one factor in Bellakar’s favor: the ambition and as far north as the Bay of Umbar, rightly confident that the Tu- rivalry of Calmacil’s two sons, Minalcar and Calimehtar. Should makveh would be too preoccupied with their Tulwang counter- Narmacil die childless, the crown would pass to Calmacil and his parts to curtail their brigandage. sons. According to the customs of Gondor, the right of succession The ruler of Bellakar at this time was Bêlphazân II, a descen- rested with the eldest son of the king, but under the Ship-kings dant of Arzagar Imruphazgân. Now hoar with years, the aging control of the fleets had become an equally important basis for the Tumakveh entrusted the eradication of the new menace to his vig- monarch’s authority. Were this office to become the possession of orous grandson, Sakalkhâd. But unlike the Sorijan wars of old, in someone other than the intended royal heir, the temptation to which the Tumakveh enjoyed the advantage of landward as well curry the favor of maritime interests as a political counterweight as naval assaults, now the pirates were firmly entrenched upon a to the rightful inheritor would grow. coastline inaccessible to Bellakarian land forces, both because it This is exactly what was about to happen. Of all the Line of was separated from them by the bay and because it was defended Anárion, Calmacil’s son Minalcar alone still had the respect of the by populous city-states. These two facts cut off all hope for a deci- powerful in Gondor. In 1240, because of the Easterling threat, sive victory. Narmacil, “to rid himself of all cares,” made Minalcar Karma-

43 Other Hands kundo, Regent of the Realm. But he entrusted the fleets to Minal- on the bay, since, with the aid of the Gondorian-paid mercenaries, car’s younger brother Calimehtar, naming him Captain of Ships. their enemies now held the advantage of being able to attack them Ten years later Calimehtar persuaded the king to make this office on two fronts simultaneously—north from the coasts of Bellakar hereditary to his sons. Calimehtar’s first priority was to restore the and west from Belegaer. unchallenged supremacy of the Gondorian fleet on the Bay of Bel- Their solution was a desperate one. Deeming their ports and falas and its honor among Gondor’s far-flung allies. Tulwang’s rugged coastline strong enough to resist a determined The Tumakveh now had a powerful advocate within Narmacil’s sea-assault that lacked landward support, the Sorijan fleets aban- court, and through Calimehtar’s unstinting efforts funds were doned their havens even as their opponents were setting sail for soon made available for the outfitting of a new fleet. Messengers the hostile shore. But rather than challenging the Tumakveh na- went to and fro between Pelargir and Nîlûlondê, and by the au- vies, the Sorija divided their strength east and west, their armadas tumn of 1244 a joint Gondorian-Bellakarian campaign against the delivering sudden, devastating assaults against Anbalukkhôr and pirate-bases of Mardruak was in readiness. The campaign com- Bozisha-Dar. menced in the spring of the following year and was concluded be- With large contingents of its land forces committed on the bor- fore the end of summer. Long inured to ease and unaccustomed to ders of Tulwang, the coastal defenses of Raj and its Adûnaic allies organized opponents, the corsairs of the cape were no match for to the south were swept away before the savage onslaught of over the combined might of the Captain of Ships and the land forces of a hundred Sorijan war galleys. The Katedrala was nearly cap- the Tumakveh. Those that escaped simply fled to their brethren in tured, and Kadar an-Khâradûn, Anbalukkhôr’s chief port-city, Tulwang. was ransacked. The Sorija might have done even greater damage, Atej Mazarek of Narîk-zadan now had a free hand to campaign but that was not their purpose. against the corruption of his peers, successfully destroying his The allies had fallen for the deception. Confident that a divided enemies and enforcing order upon his people. He met an honor- Sorijan fleet would not dare to meet their combined fleets at sea, able death in a naval battle off Vulture Island and was buried Sakalkhâd ordered only minimal detachments to pursue the osten- there. His son, Ishtiran, finished the mopping-up operations. In sibly fleeing pirates (which the Sorija quickly trapped and cap- consideration for his service to the Tumakveh and Gondor, Sa- tured by stratagem), blockading the cities of the Tulwang coast kalkhâd made Ishtiran the first Sorijan asapthubêth of Mardruak, with his main force and patiently awaiting the arrival of the Gusar which portended assurance of the future loyalty of those of Sori- from the east and the Adûnâi of Anbalukkhôr from the south so jan blood on Mardruak to the Tumakveh. that the corsair havens would be trapped. Instead, the advancing Gusar and Anbalukkhôrians were anxiously recalled by their THE SECOND SORIJAN WAR decimated countrymen. (TA 1257-1258) As soon as the Sorija caught wind of the returning armies, they hastily withdrew from the coasts. Now, with the majority of the Even with his renewed naval strength, however, Calimehtar enemy fleet concentrated within the Azra’m-Miraz, the returning had neither the authority nor the resources to commit the south- Sorija could turn the tables on those blockading their ports. The ern division of Gondor’s fleet to a far-flung venture against a ma- full force of both wings of the Sorijan fleet fell upon Sakalkhâd’s jor piratical power two hundred leagues and more beyond Mar- ships, now dispersed among the several port-cities of the Tulwang druak. Instead, the Captain of Ships resumed the old policy of the coast. The Tumakveh navy and its Haruze and Umbarean auxilia- Ship-kings, of subsidizing allies to fight his war by proxy. While ries suffered major losses and were forced to retreat to the safety Minalcar his brother was wooing the Northman princes of of Bellazen and southern Bellakar. Thanks to Sakalkhâd’s wis- Rhovanion as allies against the Easterling menace, Calimehtar’s dom, his coasts had not been left without sufficient defenses to re- coffers were being opened to adventurous ship-captains and mer- pel the pursuers. The Sorija withdrew again, and prepared for a cenary crews from Umbar, Harondor and Haruzan, while ship- watchful winter. The allies licked their wounds. wrights and naval experts were being sent into the coastal cities of But the elation of their stunning victory soon evaporated as the Bellakar under orders to help the Tumakveh increase the size of lords of Tulwang realized that so bold a ploy could not be success- their fleet. fully repeated, and that the next year would see their downfall The Sorija were not ignorant of these developments, and would unless other aid could be found. The Sorija did not have long to have taken swifter steps to thwart them had they not been dis- wait before an opportunity presented itself. The destruction of tracted by renewed conflict with Anbalukkhôr, thanks to the Kadar an-Khâradûn by the corsairs became a dramatic demon- machinations of the Katedrala. Taking their cue from Calimehtar, stration to Anbalukkhôr’s southern neighbors that the Adûnâi of the Regents of Bozisha-Dar contrived to bribe Tulwang’s south- that land were not invincible, and soon Sorijan emissaries came ern neighbor to renew war on its erstwhile dependency while the among the Adena and Sederi peoples of Khâradûnê, recalling to armies of the Gusar and other Bozishnara clans harassed the them the wrongs they had suffered over the years from the Sorija’s desert frontier on the east. With the recent loss of Mar- haughty Ârûwanâi, and persuading them to make war. druak and the “betrayal” of Narîk-zadan, the Sorija had no allies This fevered scrambling for help succeeded in the south, pre- to turn to. venting Anbalukkhôr from participating in the coming campaign But the corsairs of Tulwang were still strong, and they re- season of 1258. But Anbalukkhôr was only one of many dangers mained unequalled upon the sea for many years before the grand Tulwang now faced. During the winter of 1257, Sakalkhâd of Bel- scheme of their foes came to fruition. In 1257, all was prepared: lakar and the lords of the Katedrala were preparing strokes that fifty warships had been added to the Tumakveh fleet, stationed in the corsairs would find difficult to counter. Having repaired their Korlea, Balkuzôr and Târik an-Narduvî; allied privateers lay in coastal defenses from the damage wreaked by the Sorija, the allied wait beside their coastal raiders along Bellazen and the southern fleets were concentrated at Târik an-Narduvî, Balkuzôr and Tark- Felayja; Sakalkhâd’s troops were loaded onto transport ships, hesh, within striking distance of any corsair movement into or out ready to bring their swords to Tulwang. of the Azra’m-Miraz. Placing these fleets and the defense of Bel- The Second Sorijan War broke out in mid-summer of that year. lakar under the command of Prince Kadarzagar, the Tumakveh Beset with foes on all sides, the cities of Tulwang could not risk al- king and the Bozishnara warlord led their combined land forces lowing their fleets to be bottled up in the havens. But neither southward around the bay, strengthening the coasts as they ad- could they set all their hopes upon a large-scale naval engagement 44 Realm of Bellakar vanced. a few of its cities had surrendered or were destroyed by the victo- By dividing their forces in this way, the allies prevented the rious allies. Most of northern Tulwang was now lost to the Sorija; Sorija from diversionary attacks on their coastlands while at the the remaining havens along the Azra’m-Miraz were taken during same time discouraging the pirates from venturing from their ha- the next year. The cities of southern Tulwang called for a truce in vens, lest they be forced to fight the fleets that now guarded the the autumn of 1259, promising to submit the issue of the conflict waters of the bay. The Sorija and their cities were trapped. Their to the arbitration the Captain of Ships. only alternative was to trust to their natural defenses and wait out Satisfied with their victories and eager for a prompt resolution a long siege, hoping to wear down their foes by a lengthy land war of the war (which was already greatly straining the resources of on difficult terrain. both nations), Sakalkhâd and the Bozishnarod agreed to the pro- Much of Tulwang was an arid plateau eroding sharply into deep posal. The Sorija too were anxious to cut their northern losses, be- canyons as it approached the sea. A central chain of hills caught ing menaced anew by Anbalukkhôr, which had by then beaten precipitation from moist breezes off Belegaer and the Bay of Tul- back and punished the Adena and Sederi. Far away in Pelargir, wang, feeding a number of swift rivers whose courses had delved Calimehtar was pleased to learn of the success of his league with these canyons in ages past. The cities of Tulwang lay mostly the southern powers. He appointed his son, Calimir, then com- within these well-watered gorges, a barrier to landward intruders manding the southern division of Gondor’s fleet at Umbar, to act and a source of arable land. So long as war could be kept on the on his behalf in the settlement of Sorijan affairs. semi-desert plateau above the canyons, the defenders would hold the advantage. THE PEACE OF TULWANG Fortunately for the Sorija, it was a long and hard road for an in- (TA 1260) vasionary force to march along the coast from the hill-country of the Brij-Mijesec to the Bay of Raishoul that marked Tulwang’s The Tumakveh monarch, an ambassador from the Dar and rep- eastern frontier. Water sources were perilously scarce along that resentatives of the southern cities of Tulwang gathered at Khorsâj section of the Batân an-Sakal, making it necessary for Sakalkhâd in the spring of 1260 to receive Calimir and commence negotia- and his Bozishnara allies to take out the Sorijan towns that tions. Having given a hearing to the claims of all parties and con- guarded it one by one to secure a safe line of communications. sidering carefully what arrangements would best ensure enduring And even if Khorsâj should come under Tumakveh control, even stability for traffic on the sea and Gondor’s allies, the son of Ca- then the invaders would have to supply their armies by ship, a limehtar judged that the Sorija should have peace on the following time-consuming process that would draw off much of their fleet conditions: from the fighting. The northern coast of Tulwang and its cities shall be subject to The Tulwanî knew this, and therefore staged a concerted de- the hegemony of Bellakar and Bozisha-Dar, their respective pos- fense of the region in the spring of 1258; but without the support sessions to be determined by mutual agreement. Southern Tul- of their naval forces the armies of Khorsâj and its neighboring wang shall remain free, and neither the Tumakveh nor the Bozish- towns were swiftly defeated by Sakalkhâd—and well it was for narod shall provoke war with its cities. the Tumakveh king, for anything less than a decisive victory No Sorijan ship shall sail north of Cape Bishra, being the south- would have imperiled his army with starvation and lack of water. westernmost extremity of the Azra’m-Miraz, nor may the Sorija But with the capture of Khorsâj, the siege of Tulwang had begun. occupy the isle facing it with more than 12 decked ships. Fighting on the Tulwang plateau raged throughout the remain- Over a period of five years, the Tulwanî shall pay 20,000 pieces der of the campaigning season with little success for the allied in- of gold to the Katedrala in reparation for violence perpetrated vaders. The tenacious defenders held their ground, utilizing the against the coastlands of Raj, and another 8,000 at once to the Tu- hardships imposed by the landscape on their enemies to disrupt makveh to allay expenses incurred by the support of Gondorian their advance or divide their numbers. Of particular advantage to privateers in their land during the war. the Sorija was the fact that the southern cities of Tulwang that The representatives of Tulwang accepted Calimir’s terms and faced the open sea rather than the bay, though severely harried by hastened back to their cities to confirm the settlement. Mean- the Gondorian privateers, were still free ports whose ships could while, Calimehtar’s son busied himself with the detailed disposi- sail south along the coasts of the Thânî Hazad in search of merce- tion of lands and havens to the victors. It was agreed that the Dar naries and provisions to abet their cause. As yet the allies had no should possess all the coasts as far as Khorsâj, whereas Bellakar means of preventing this without abandoning their blockade of would hold the Teeth of Kanjar and everything westwards to the Azra’m-Miraz and Tulwang’s northern cities. Cape Bishra. Both apportionments were substantial territorial The tide began to turn in the following year, when Sakalkhâd’s gains which would give the allied powers absolute supremacy over forces finally succeeded in penetrating the Teeth of Kanjar, the the bay and preeminent control of the sea-ways south of Mar- three most populous valleys of Tulwang’s northern coast that lay druak. opposite the Cape of Balkuzôr. Laying siege to the havens of Kan- A still greater victory belonged to the Captain of Ships, whose jar, the Tumakveh king ordered his son to advance one of Bel- cunning deployment of Gondor’s resources had rid the sea of a lakar’s three war-fleets against this region from the landward side. large-scale piratical threat without the commitment of Gondorian Cut off now even from their fellow countrymen by Sakalkhâd’s naval forces. With the Azra’m-Miraz now firmly in the hands of Bozishnara auxiliaries, who blocked all attempts of the southern his allies, Calimehtar had laid the foundation for a revival of the cities to bring relief to Kanjar by land, the desperate pirates made maritime prosperity Gondor had known under the Ship-kings, a a last-ditch effort to break the blockading Tumakveh fleet in a prosperity in which Bellakar and Bozisha-Dar would share. But if sea-battle. But now the corsairs were dangerously outnumbered, the fortunes of Bellakar and other westward-looking realms now and though Kadarzagar was not an exceptionally skilled admiral, waxed and waned with the power of Gondor, other lands, far their swift coastal runners were no match for the Gondorian- from the Sundering Sea, were being drawn into the orbit of pow- designed warships of the Tumakveh. ers as yet unknown to the West—powers of darkness whose reach The Battle of the Crimson Tide that followed obliterated the would one day extend even to the Teeth of Kanjar. fleets of Kanjar, and by the close of the campaigning season all but

45 Other Hands THE SHADOW IN THE SOUTH Nûrn as Sauron’s taskmaster during the later Second Age, Herun- (TA 1051-1338) dil planned to unleash his monstrous minions upon Sîrayn, deci- mate its populace and then give the survivors the option of sub- Many leagues to the east of Bellakar and Raj lay Sîrayn, a land mitting to his rule as an alternative to total annihilation. watered by mighty rivers born under the rain shadow of the Yel- But the Sîranians were a free people, not Nûrniag slaves, and low Mountains. The Sîranians, a Southron people, called this land proved more resilient than the Nazgûl anticipated. A century of home, dotting its verdant floodplain with seven well-built cities. incessant Orkish raiding succeeded only in starving most of his Distant relatives of the Bozishnarod, the Men of Sîrayn were minions and draining himself of sorcerous power. In order for his nourished by a sophisticated polytheism, the Tayé faith, con- day-shy hosts to venture far from their mountain lairs, Herundil cerned primarily with the preservation of social order and national had to summon vast storm-clouds to block out the sun wherever identity. they marched. The almost perpetual darkness accompanying these That identity had once been threatened by imperial Númenor. attacks disrupted the agriculture cycle on which the Sîranians de- After seventy years of bloody conquest, Herundil of Ciryatanórë pended for their existence. Were the Blind Sorcerer’s machina- divided Sîrayn into three provinces—Chennacatt, Isra and Kirm- tions to continue, there would be no people left alive to serve him. lesra—partitioning their governance to loyal captains. These held A total defeat of his Orkish army in 1201 by the Sîranian the Men of Sîrayn in subjection for nearly three centuries, seizing swords of Clan Másra persuaded Herundil to abandon his cam- their wealth to feed the coffers of Númenórean avarice and press- paign. His Orcs fled back into the Yellow Mountains, his clouds ing their sons to serve in Herundil’s armies. receded, and the Storm King was given the next hundred and fifty It made no difference to the Sîranians whether Herundil was years to ponder his own folly while convalescing in the privacy of the vassal of Armenelos or Tar-Raumoher the Storm King, ally of Ny Chennacatt. Mordor. When Herundil was finally crushed by Tar-Ancalimon in Herundil had blundered badly, but he had had the wisdom not the War of the Renegades, the Men of Sîrayn rose against their to give out his right name. To be sure, the Men of Sîrayn spun overlords and cast aside the Númenórean yoke altogether. Subse- endless tales about the return of the “Storm King” and the defeat quent attempts by the Bâitha’n-Khôrî to recover the eastern lands of his hordes; but they had no idea how close to reality their myth- of Herundil’s once great empire met with signal defeat. Númenor making had become. For his part, the Nazgûl determined to keep had come and gone, but the Sîranians remained. it that way. If he was to use these one-time subjects as fodder for Like all peoples of Haradwaith, the Men of Sîrayn knew of the his dreams of conquest, Herundil would have to fabricate a new persona for himself, suppressing (at least for the present) the title might of Hyarmendacil, and of the splendor of Atanatar Alcarin, of Storm King. in whose reign “precious stones were pebbles in Gondor for chil- Although the Másra purged Sîrayn of Herundil’s minions in dren to play with.” But to the Sîranians Gondor and its allies, for 1201, the Sîranians were not able to dislodge his Orcs from Fhûl, all their wars and their wealth, were but a distant rumor. “Let the a fortress that sat astride the entrance to the Boasiri, the strategic heirs of Númenor rule in the West if they must rule somewhere,” pass linking Chennacatt to lands south of the Yellow Mountains. they said; “the East is ours.” Through Fhûl, Herundil’s Orcs controlled access to the Yól Sari, Smug in their self-assurance, the Men of Sîrayn did not per- a major trade route that mounted the Boasiri. The economy of the ceive the shadow that was even then sending forth its dark ten- nearby Sîranian town of Tartaust was significantly damaged by drils from a forgotten crag of the Yellow Mountains. In Chen- this fact, as it was by the Orc-raids that were periodically nacatt, at the source of the Sîresha, the very river whose waters launched against it from the surrounding mountains. gave Sîrayn life, a seed of evil was taking root. Herundil, the As his strength revived, Herundil stepped up this Orkish pres- Storm King, had returned to haunt the lands he once ruled, bent ence in the region, causing many Sîranians to abandon their on piecing together the fragments of a dream that had been shat- homes. The Boasiri was fast becoming a menace to its neighbors tered by Tar-Ancalimon more than two thousand years ago. on both sides of the mountains. The Men of Sîrayn called upon Now a bodiless wraith enslaved to the Lord of the Rings, the their rulers to amend the situation, but they failed in spite of some ghost of Herundil stalked the dark ruins of Ny Chennacatt, the concerted campaigning by the warriors of Clan Másra. mountain fastness that had been the citadel of Vaiwatan, his east- Salvation came at last unexpectedly from out of the south. A ern viceroy. This subterranean stronghold had degenerated into a small force of Ârûwanâi and Dûsheran hillmen, led by a captain lair of Orcs and Trolls. Swiftly effecting the submission of these named Akhôrahil, stormed Fhûl and drove out its Orkish inhabi- evil creatures, the Nazgûl contemplated how the reconquest of his tants. Some of the victors occupied the fortress, others settled in empire was to be achieved. Tartaust, befriending its remaining inhabitants and vowing to re- Formidable obstacles stood in Herundil’s path. The first was a store prosperity to Chennacatt. The newcomers sent emissaries to lack of manpower. Orcs were serviceable enough for guarding Mezin, Tarb of Tûl Isra, the Másra ruler of Sîrayn, explaining mountain passes and short-range raiding expeditions, but they that their lord Akhôrahil, being greatly troubled by the infestation were virtually useless in lands ruled by the sun—in Haradwaith, of the mountains, had taken up residence at Ny Chennacatt to en- Vatra reigned supreme. As a servant of the Shadow, Herundil sure that the headwaters of the Sîresha remain free of evils. might find eager recruits among the Ârûwanâi of the Southlands, “Akhôrahil” was, of course, the Nazgûl Herundil in disguise; his but Anbalukkhôr, Khâradûnê and the Thânî Hazad lay far be- Ârûwanâ and Sharaekian retainers, paid mercenaries from yond his reach. The Black Númenórean realm of Tantûrak and Dûshera; the defeat of the Orcs, a staged fight. The year was the Sharaekian hillmen of Dûshera were closer neighbors, but too 1338. parochial to become the primary spawning ground for an inva- The Tarb was delighted at this news and promptly sent repre- sionary force that would be required to march thousands of miles sentatives to secure friendly relations with his new neighbor and (more shrewdly) to negotiate affordable tolls and tariffs for the at Herundil’s bidding. The only realistic source of soldiery avail- use of the Boasiri by Sîranian merchants. Similar embassies were able to Herundil were the Sîranians, and they cursed his memory. received from Dâirukhôr, Prince of Dûshera, being comforted Herundil’s first scheme at winning them over was unsuccessful. that a kinsman of his own race held this crucial frontier. The lord Attempting a stratagem he had used to suppress a slave revolt in of Ny Chennacatt was accommodating to all requests, but his en-

46 Realm of Bellakar voys impressed upon those who would have his good will that Ak- of allowing the lord of Ny Chennacatt to grow too powerful. hôrahil needed men to help him maintain Chennacatt against the Though pleased with the pacification of the Yellow Mountains, creatures of the mountains. the rulers of Sîrayn did not sit comfortably with Black By this cunning charade Akhôrahil had overcome a major ob- Númenórean neighbors, however open-handed. In 1370, Clan stacle to his plans. He had established himself as an ostensibly be- Másra persuaded Mezin Tarb to issue an edict setting limits to the nign presence at a strategically and economically important junc- number of Israns Akhôrahil could accept annually into his service. ture of many realms, and he had given the Sîranians a reason to Cautious to avoid antagonizing the hand that fed him, Akhôra- take up military service under his banner. That banner displayed a hil at first diplomatically complied with Mezin’s demands. But the black dragon upon a red field, a device intended to match the terms of the Tarb’s edict brought the Nazgûl’s recruitment sched- dragon’s head his Dûsheran stonewrights were shaping from the ule to a virtual standstill. Mezin and his supporters would have to mountain-face of Ny Chennacatt. The host which would one day be eliminated. Lacking any strong foothold in Sîrayn beyond the march under that banner into Tulwang and beyond took its name boundaries of Chennacatt, but well-informed by those Israns al- from this icon: Thôn an-Khârlôkh, the Army of the Southern ready in his employ, Akhôrahil spent the next five years quietly Dragon. probing the hearts of Clan Másra’s chief political rival, Clan Bul- gan. THE ARMY OF THE SOUTHERN DRAGON One family of that clan in particular, the House of Izain, held (TA 1338-1398) out great prospect for an unholy alliance with the lord of Ny Chennacatt. Bazaud Izain, the head of that family, was amenable The formation of Akhôrahil’s vast host (120,000 strong at its to Akhôrahil’s suggestion of a pact of mutual advantage. The height) took the Nazgûl more than a half century to complete. Thôn an-Khârlôkh would assist Clan Bulgan in seizing power if Having administered the slave-fields of Nûrn for many mortal Bazaud would reverse Mezin’s edict. To ensure that the new gov- lives, Akhôrahil was well aware of the logistics of sustaining a ernment would act in concert with Akhôrahil’s interests, Tartas large military force. The first thirty years of this process therefore Izain, a close relative of Bazaud and already a budding sorcerer, concentrated almost exclusively on transforming the Chenna val- was to be sent to Ny Chennacatt for the completion of his train- ley above Tartaust into terraced agricultural land capable of feeding. ing an army. The conditions of this conspiracy were agreed upon in 1375; To promote this, all who took up service with Akhôrahil (at this they were acted upon five years later. A bloody coup took place in stage, mostly dislocated peasants or townsmen from the country Tûl Isra in Ishat 1380, and in only six days Bazaud Izain held the round Tartaust) were given land to till and cultivate. As the popu- reins of government. The Army of the Southern Dragon did not lation of the vale grew, so did the town of Tartaust, its stagnant actually take part in the fighting. Instead, Dulgu led a force from economy gradually reviving and even surpassing its former pros- Fhûl and sat menacingly on the banks of the Maudar river oppo- perity. The army of Akhôrahil drew merchants, artisans and pur- site Tûl Isra, cowing any who sought to come to Clan Másra’s de- veyors of all manner of diversion over the Boasiri, making Tar- fense. More direct assistance was had from the Slayers, a cadre of taust the most important caravansary in the Yellow Mountains. Half-troll assassins Akhôrahil had formed to dispatch “obstacles” Akhôrahil’s open encouragement to settlement of the Chenna to his will. One of these was responsible for the murder of Mezin valley contrasted with a ruthless selection process for those who Tarb. would actually garrison the Ringwraith’s citadel. Those not found With the Bulgan in power, the whole of Sîrayn was opened to worthy of trust were rejected. These either vanished without a Akhôrahil’s recruiters, and the size of his army grew accordingly. trace or returned to their homes unable to recall anything of their These developments brought Akhôrahil’s scheme to two impor- visit to Ny Chennacatt. This phenomenon continued for some tant thresholds. The first, epitomized by Dulgu’s restraint during years until all of the most sensitive positions were filled. After the Bulgan coup, was a threshold of inactivity. For thirteen years that, Akhôrahil would be less discriminating, otherwise it might now Akhôrahil had been engaged in the intense recruitment of a take him centuries to build up the numbers he required to under- soldiery which, although well-paid, had been given no foe to fight. take his campaigns. This had to change if Akhôrahil expected to sustain his troops’ Orcs and Trolls were now employed only sparingly. Akhôrahil commitment to their employer. The second threshold reached by the Thôn an-Khârlôkh under allowed them to infest the mountains in the immediate vicinity of Bulgan supremacy in Sîrayn was material. The agricultural land Ny Chennacatt and Fhûl, but direct ties to these creatures were about Ny Chennacatt and Fhûl enabled the basic garrisons of suppressed, except within the depths of Ny Chennacatt where those fortresses self-sufficiency, but it could not sustain an army they continued to mine and delve the Nazgûl’s citadel, coming of 120,000 (a goal which Akhôrahil was still a long way from into contact with only the most trusted of Akhôrahil’s servants. reaching). The Nazgûl would have to extend the boundaries of his During these years, Akhôrahil found a general for his fledgling territory. Happily, this would kill two birds with one stone, since army in Dulgu, renegade son of Dâirukhôr of Dûshera. Dulgu expansion meant war. “the Black” had shown himself sufficiently ruthless to warrant Ak- Two arenas presented themselves as trials for the Thôn an- hôrahil’s trust, and in 1367 the lord of Ny Chennacatt commanded Khârlôkh. To the west lay Tulwang, the first objective of his re- him to re-garrison Fhûl and expand recruitment throughout conquest. But before Akhôrahil could invade that country his Chennacatt and Isra. The response of the Sîranians was enthusi- army would have to accomplish an epic march of three hundred astic from many quarters (not surprising, given the benefits Ak- leagues, skirting the fertile strip of valleys that marked the north- hôrahil’s control of the Boasiri had brought to Tartaust), and pro- ern foothills of the Yellow Mountains. But the lord of Ny Chen- spective swords began to flock to the gates of Fhûl. nacatt did not command the loyalty of the wild hillmen who in- The reaction of the Isran authorities was otherwise. Settling dis- habited these vales. These would have to be pacified or destroyed. enfranchised peasants on a mountain frontier was one thing; Either way, westward expansion would secure more arable land drawing upon the source of another realm’s levies was quite an- to feed and house his growing host. other matter. The lords of Isra, and especially its Tarb, were wary Due south of the Boasiri sprawled the Ârûwanâ realm of Tantûrak and its Dûsheran marches. Beyond Tantûrak lay northern Ûsakan, Gan and the savannas of Mûmakan. Dûshera was 47 Other Hands fair game for the Thôn an-Khârlôkh, being inhabited mainly by on Tulwang’s arid plateau) supported by 10,000 infantry and rebellious Sharaekian vassals of Tantûrak. The fertile mountain 1,000 mûmakil from the Sára Bask. Elephants had never before valleys of Gan and Ûsakan, with their towers and fortified towns, been used for warfare in the western realms of Haradwaith, and were similarly open for periodic raiding. Dulgu hoped they would give his army added shock value. In- But Tantûrak itself Akhôrahil would not attack. In a campaign cluding specialist contingents, allied auxiliaries and camp follow- aiming to win over Ârûwanâ realms to his rule, it would not do to ers, Dulgu would be leading a host well in excess of 45,000, the display unprovoked antagonism against other Ârûwanâi. largest organized military force to trouble the seaward lands in Mûmakan likewise was currently the domain of the Nazgûl Indûr nearly three thousand years. (masquerading as Jí Amáv III, god-king of the Mûmakanril). The But Akhôrahil knew that Tulwang could not be taken without Lord of the Rings would tolerate no quarrels among his wraith- the control or at least the cooperation of his former core territory slaves. of Anbalukkhôr. Not only was a seaborne ally needful to counter But Akhôrahil was not out to pick fights with sympathetic the fleets of Tulwang and its hegemons; the fertile basin of the neighbors. He wanted to control the Yellow Mountains. This left Balakurush river was essential as a source for provisioning so vast ample frontiers for the army of Fhûl to reduce and occupy. In ad- a host in the deserts of Tulwang. For this reason Akhôrahil hum- dition to Dûshera, there was the adjoining hill country of Gan to bled his pride and sent an emissary to treat with the lord who now the southeast and Ûsakan to the southwest. Ûsakan in particular sat upon “his” throne at Zadan an-Adûn. offered a secondary approach to the western realms of the This was Pharazbâr the Golden, lesser scion of Zimrubâr the Ârûwanâi, by the Twin Gap linking it to Khâradûnê. Unlike the Great (whose fleet the Tumakveh had vanquished at the Battle of western advance towards Tulwang, however, the operations of the Corals four hundred years ago). Since the Peace of Tulwang in Thôn an-Khârlôkh in the south concentrated on raiding for slaves, 1260, Anbalukkhôrian prestige had been decisively eclipsed by forage and booty rather than actual occupation of land (apart Bellakar and Raj. Anbalukkhôr’s supremacy south of Tulwang from a few key fortified towns and towers near mountain passes). had also declined. The Tumakveh and the Bozishnarod were now Slaves won from these raids formed the primary labor force of the dominant trading partners of the Thânî Hazad, and an indeci- Akhôrahil’s army, males for the construction of the fortresses, fe- sive war twenty years ago with Khâradûnê had not improved males to serve the pleasure of the soldiery. Pharazbâr’s prospects on that front. All these ventures helped assure Akhôrahil’s army the cohesion Despite the need for delicate diplomacy, Akhôrahil commanded it would need in the great campaigns to come, while keeping sol- his envoy to declare himself before Pharazbâr as the Voice of Ârû diers battle-hardened and devoted to their chiefs. By the time the an-Bawîb, the Storm King, thus making plain to the Ârûwanâ muster for the Tulwang campaign arrived, an entirely new martial king what mantle and legacy the lord of Ny Chennacatt was lay- culture had evolved. The bulk of Akhôrahil’s Sîranian soldiery ing claim to. But the Storm King’s message to Pharazbâr was to could look back with pride to days of old when their grandfathers be an invitation to glory, not a threat to usurp the rule of An- or great-grandfathers first entered the service of Ny Chennacatt. balukkhôr (well, not yet). Akhôrahil needed ships to help fight They looked forward with anticipation to the “Glorious War” Anbalukkhôr’s old foes to the north, in return for which Pharaz- their fathers had told them tales of in their childhood. bâr’s rule would be extended over half of Tulwang. Though wary of this new power in the East who made such THE GATHERING STORM bold claims about himself, the lord of Anbalukkhôr accepted the (TA 1398) Storm King’s proposal, preferring the opportunity of attacking his natural enemies to creating a new one. Akhôrahil’s ambassadors Eighteen years after Bazaud Izain’s seizure of power in Sîrayn, to Khâradûnê and the Thânî Hazad were less successful, due to Akhôrahil’s army had achieved numbers which the wraith-lord the enmity of these realms toward Anbalukkhôr and their unwill- deemed sufficient to undertake his designs against the West. In ingness to take part in another northern fiasco. To the Ârûwanâi the summer of 1398, raiding activities in Zajantak and the south of the west, the Army of the Southern Dragon remained an un- suddenly ceased. The Army of the Southern Dragon was assem- known quantity of dubious faith. bling at Ny Chennacatt. As Akhôrahil marshaled his troops, he drew them up as Vaiwa- THE FIRST TULWANG CAMPAIGN tan, his conquering general of the Second Age, had arrayed his forces—by the four winds of storm. Each wind-host, 30,000 (TA 1399) strong, was assigned a sphere of operation: the task of holding Za- As the Tumakveh and the Bozishnarod had learned more than jantak was given to the North Wind, the defense of Chennacatt to two hundred years before, no large-scale land campaign against the East, and the frontiers of Ûsakan, Dûshera and Gan to the Tulwang could succeed without the control of one of its southern South. ports: Khorsâj or Norjadar. Without a secure, uninterrupted flow To the West Wind was given the honor of conducting the Glori- of provisions, no army, however puissant, could survive for long ous War. Dulgu the Black, high warlord of the Thôn an- upon Tulwang’s barren plateau that guarded its northern coastal Khârlôkh, would be its general, seconded by Barzek Zern of Clan valleys, if its ways were barred by the Tulwanî. But Khorsâj Bulgan. Now 71, the one-time Dûsheran renegade had become a would be of no use to Akhôrahil’s forces as far as provisioning grizzled veteran of over forty years experience. “Caja the Snake” was concerned, since it stood beside a bay jointly controlled by the his troops called him, boasting that he had outwitted and defeated Men of Bellakar and Raj. Only by first seizing and holding Nor- more than twenty-five enemy generals in his day. But Dulgu’s jadar would victory come within the Storm King’s grasp. “day” was not yet over. He had waited most of his life for this This was to be the task of Anbalukkhôr’s fleet. Because rumor campaign. Born into an age of lesser Men, Dulgu did not share of the westward march of the Thôn an-Khârlôkh would reach the blessing of Vaiwatan’s longevity, but he intended to prove Tulwang and its neighbors long before the army itself did, Pharaz- himself the equal of his legendary predecessor even in his ad- bâr had to act quickly. The attack came late in 1398, while Ak- vanced years. hôrahil was still mustering his troops at Ny Chennacatt. The An- Under Dulgu’s command would march a cavalry of 15,000 balukkhôrians assailed Norjadar suddenly by land and sea under horse and camel-riders (the latter exceptionally suited for warfare the command of Pharazbâr’s son, Sakulbâr, capturing it in the

48 Realm of Bellakar

midst of the storm season (a ploy which gave the Anbalukkhôrian something to be faced lightly. Norjadar’s allies soon had the An- prince the advantage of surprise, but also cost him many ships). balukkhôrians on the defensive. Fortunately for the city’s captors, Spring brought with it Tulwanian reprisal, but no movement relief was on the way. from the lords of Azra’m-Miraz. Though an important port-city, Dulgu and Barzek Zern led their hosts out of Ny Chennacatt on Norjadar was far removed from the Bay of Tulwang, beyond the 9th of Dahlat, 1399, advancing with ruthless efficiency across whose coasts neither the Tumakveh nor the Katedrala showed the long leagues of Zajantak in just over a month’s time. On 16 much interest. Nevertheless, the enmity of the Sorija was not Najam, the West Wind of the Storm King reached the oasis of 49 Other Hands Fult (the site of Vaiwatan’s ignominious defeat at the hands of Nisur. These auxiliaries were primarily light infantry supported Tar-Ancalimon’s forces in SA 2280). Poised upon the frontier of by the Gettaniya, nomadic tribesmen who wandered the rocky southern Tulwang, the Army of the Southern Dragon was re- Ashatur peninsula that formed the frontier between Anbalukkhôr provisioned there by their allies in Anbalukkhôr. The Black and southern Tulwang. The Gettaniya had no love for the Númenórean warlord and his Bulgan tarabett then divided the Ârûwanâi, and were only too happy for an excuse to join forces host, Barzek advancing west into the vale of the River Ajdak with the Men of Tulwang against them—for the right price. above Norjadar, Dulgu leading his forces north towards Khorsâj. So when Gettaniyan scouts brought word of Barzek’s march on By now report of the massive, westward-marching legions had Ajdak and the Tulwanî at last perceived what these invaders were spread throughout Tulwang and Bozisha-Miraz, making its way trying to do, the besiegers of Norjadar had no choice but to lift even to the Tumakveh court at Nîlûlondê. Ûrêzagar, the great- their siege and race to defend the Crossings of Dalgen, the Sorija grandson of Sakalkhâd (hero of the Second Sorijan War), ruled redoubling their seaward assault in order to dissuade Sakulbâr the Bellakaranî at this time. Now in his fifties, Ûrêzagar entrusted from sending a foray against the rear of their countrymen hasten- the command of Bellakar’s forces to his doughty son, Urshuzîr. ing up the Ajdak. But Barzek Zern needed no such help from the There was little time to take counsel—nor would it have availed Anbalukkhôrians. With a Sîranian phalanx of 5,000 and a cavalry them much, as neither the Tumakveh nor the Katedrala had any of 3,000 horse, 2,000 camel and 700 war-elephants under the tara- certain knowledge of this mysterious enemy’s intentions. But bett’s command, the prospects of the Tulwanî and their Gettaniyan whatever should betide, this much was clear: their possessions allies were no better than those of Khorsâj’s defenders. along the southern coast of Azra’m-Miraz must be guarded from The Khurzan infantry ensconced itself at Dalgen, digging assault. Urshuzîr commanded Azrakhâd, asapthubêth of Nykkea, trenches and raising earthworks to stymie the enemy’s charge. But to mobilize the fleet of Mardruak and meet him at Korlea with all the Mûmakat made mincemeat of these paltry barricades, scatter- speed. ing the Tulwanî or crushing them beneath the feet of their walk- Having received news of the Southern Dragon’s serpentine ap- ing fortresses. The Gettaniyan horsemen, more sensible than their proach well in advance of the Tumakveh, the lords of the Dar dis- Gusar counterparts, avoided a direct clash with Barzek’s well- patched 500 picked Visi to strengthen Khorsâj and 4,000 Gusar organized host, and their tactics were consequently limited to har- clansmen to patrol its hinterland. Little did the Katedrala compre- assment from a distance and screening maneuvers to cover the re- hend how insufficient this (to them quite substantial) sending treat of the few Tulwanî who managed to escape. They fled to force would be against what had now become the most powerful Norjadar, bearing tales of the might of the Southern Dragon to war machine in southern Middle-earth. their Sorijan comrades. On 22 Najam, Dulgu’s Farat, the cavalry of the Thôn an- The tarabett dispatched a third of his forces to pursue the fugi- Khârlôkh, now 10,000 strong (the rest having accompanied Bar- tives, sending messages also to Pharazbâr to send the main body zek to the Ajdak), pulverized the Gusar in a pitched battle only of the Anbalukkhôrian fleet to lift the siege of Norjadar so that the three leagues from the gates of Khorsâj. Lured into a circle of movement of supplies from Kadar an-Khâradûn could begin. Bar- mounted Chennan cataphracts whose armor their arrows could zek meanwhile set his remaining troops to constructing fortified not penetrate, the horsemen of the Brij-Mijesec collapsed under a camps on both sides of the Ajdak to hold the Dalgen Crossings. hail of missiles loosed upon them from the towering parapets of Additional camps were established every ten miles along the south the Mûmakat (the elephant-riders of Sîrayn). This shocking de- bank of the river in order to ensure an uninterrupted line of defeat quickly sobered up Khorsâj’s defenders. The Visi took com- fense for what would become the umbilical of the Southern mand of the city’s defense, having already made preparations for Dragon’s march across the plateau of Tulwang. the eventuality of a siege, and sent word by ship to the towns By this time the naval forces of Bellakar had set sail from Kor- along the Batân an-Sakal for assistance. lea under Azrakhâd of Nykkea and Prince Urshuzîr, landing an But here too the Bozishnarod underestimated the power of their impressive number of troops in the ports of Kanjar and Bishra on adversary—Caja the Snake had many weapons and many hands 10 Manjaz. There the Tumakveh commanders learned that to wield them. The Warlord of the West Wind had marched Khorsâj was under siege and that Tulwanian efforts to liberate within sight of Khorsâj’s walls with only a tithe of his forces, com- Norjadar had failed. Since their chief strength lay in naval superi- manding the main body to wait three days at Fult before following ority, Urshuzîr and Azrakhâd decided to divide their fleets. The him. Thinking that their attackers had numbers sufficient to be- Tumakveh prince sailed the main body of Korlea and Balkuzôr’s siege the city and no more, the messengers the Visi had sent along ships round the Bishra to break the enemy’s hold on Norjadar. the coast brought no tidings of the multitudes that poured into the The admiral of Mardruak meanwhile would transport their land country around Khorsâj three days later. These Dulgu directed to forces to relieve Khorsâj. occupy a narrow neck of the Batân an-Sakal a few miles east of The coming to the Tumakveh navy to Norjadar and Khorsâj Khorsâj, so that any attempt to bring aid to the beleaguered city brought new hope to the defenders of Tulwang. Dulgu had now by land would be effectively blocked. left Khorsâj, entrusting the city’s reduction to Barzek while he As Dulgu commenced the siege of Khorsâj, Barzek Zern was moved his forces onto the plateau. The tarabett was eager to be leading the other half of the West Wind into the Ajdak vale with a done with the siege so that he could join his warlord on the main view to securing the Crossings of Dalgen. These fords, which lay campaign, but the conveyance of supplies from Fult was a slow twenty leagues upriver from Norjadar, were the gateway to the and laborious process, whereas Khorsâj’s defenders had easy ac- plateau of northern Tulwang and therefore had to be occupied if cess to provisions thanks to their control of the sea. the Storm King’s designs were to succeed. The arrival of Urshuzîr’s fleet before the beleaguered port of Well aware of this, the Tulwanî hastened to fend off Akhôrahil’s Norjadar had more immediate consequences. The Sorija of Khur- forces. This was made difficult, however, by Sakulbâr’s occupa- zan were inspired to renew their attack on the city, in spite of the tion of Norjadar, the only Tulwanian city within a week’s march danger now looming above their own havens, thinking that their of Dalgen. The Sorijan fleet, attempting to recapture Norjadar, old enemies from Bellakar would be able to turn the tide in their was abetted by land forces sent from its sister-cities along the Kalz favor. Now, however, with his garrison strengthened by the Thôn Khurzan, the bay that followed the Tulwanian coast north of Cape an-Khârlôkh, Sakulbâr was ready for a sea-battle.

50 Realm of Bellakar Indeed, the prince of Anbalukkhôr had no choice but to chal- bound forces should the tides of fate turn against them. The Tul- lenge his adversaries, since sea-access to Norjadar was now essen- wanians that came into his power—Nashar, Hija and Qanath— tial to victory. Sakulbâr was a daring captain, but his ships were were shown mercy (the Storm King did not want to rule over a no match for the combined fleets of Bellakar and Khurzan. land of ghosts), and their cities were handed over to the An- Pharazbâr, his father, knew this, and had no intention of allowing balukkhôrians. But any warships Dulgu found he burned to en- his son to stand alone. As Urshuzîr and the Sorija engaged Sakul- sure that the Sorija could not use them against Norjadar. Not bâr’s fleet off Cape Nisur, the main Anbalukkhôrian armada lay many ships were burnt, since most Sorija who did not die in the hidden behind the promontory of Abârrûkh, waiting for the battle defense of their havens took sail and fled to Bishra or Kanjar, to be drawn into the Bay of Norjadar so that the enemy could be there to carry on the fight with their countrymen. trapped from behind. As for Khorsâj, Barzek had made little headway on that front The ploy succeeded, the attackers having no inkling that thanks to the steadfastness of Azrakhâd. But additional forces had Pharazbâr had committed the full strength of his navy against recently arrived from the Dar, giving the Tumakveh admiral them. Urshuzîr and his allies were now under attack from two space to consider the choices that now lay before him. He could sides, and the arms of the firth had grown too narrow for them to stay in Khorsâj, but it had become clear to him that this city was turn and face their new foes without great loss of ships and men. not the object of the invader, except as a means of preventing him Nonetheless, the Tumakveh prince hazarded this, seeing no other from achieving anything. He could throw all of Bellakar’s strength chance of saving his men. Commanding his own vessel and others into the defense of the Teeth of Kanjar, but that would not drive of his escort to turn their hulls broadside against the oncoming the Southern Dragon out of Tulwang. One choice remained to Anbalukkhôrians, Urshuzîr shielded the swiftest Sorijan galleys, Azrakhâd: to turn the might of Bellakar and the Sorija against the urging them to form a spearhead and cut a path to freedom. Anbalukkhôrian fleet at Norjadar and force the enemy to abandon Marveling at the nobility of the Tumakveh’s sacrifice, the Khur- northern Tulwang. zan mariners launched their attack. Many Sorija perished in that This last course Azrakhâd chose. Mobilizing his fleet, the asap- headlong onset; but their blood was well-spent, for several ships, thubêth of Nykkea withdrew from Khorsâj, sailing west. In Kanjar Bellakarian and Sorijan alike, escaped the Ârûwanâ trap. Alas, and Bishra he rallied to his banner all Sorija that would hearken Urshuzîr did not escape. His ship was among the first to be to his summons, and soon he rounded Cape Bishra with a great broadsided by the steel-spined rams of the Anbalukkhôrians. The armada to challenge the might of Anbalukkhôr. allies of the Storm King had won the day. Azrakhâd’s first task was to liberate the ports of Khurzan, and The survivors of Kalâb an-Phazân, the “Prince’s Fall,” arrived on 12 Vetrashu his fleet engaged the Anbalukkhôrian-held cities. in Khorsâj on 22 Manjaz. Azrakhâd was distraught with grief at Turning the enemy’s strategy against him, the Tumakveh admiral the news of Urshuzîr’s death and of the defeat at Norjadar, but held his own fleet back initially, so that the Anbalukkhôrians could not seek to avenge his lord without abandoning the charge would think that only the Sorija were attacking them. This trick Urshuzîr had laid upon him: to defend Khorsâj. But he dispatched succeeded in drawing their ships into a naval engagement on the messengers to Nîlûlondê, bearing these sad tidings and entreating Kalz Khurzan. the king to declare his will—should the fleet remain in Kanjar and The sudden appearance on the bay of the navy of Bellakar took Khorsâj, or should they seek to redress the shame of Kalâb an- the mariners of Anbalukkhôr by surprise. Striking at the signal- Phazân in Norjadar? fire sent from Azrakhâd’s flagship, the Bellakarian fleet trapped Urshuzîr’s death was a grievous blow to Ûrêzagar’s heart. Not the Ârûwanâi by the same ploy that had robbed them of Urshuzîr. only was he robbed of his son, Bellakar was now robbed of an Within hours, many Anbalukkhôrian defenders had perished, heir to the throne—a masterful man well able to lead his country while those garrisoning the havens of Khurzan sought to burn through troubled times. Urshuzîr had a son, Êruhil, but he was a Nashar and Qanath in desperation, bent on whatever harm they mere lad of eleven summers. The fate of the Bellakarian venture might do to the Tulwanî before they themselves were destroyed. into Tulwang lay with Azrakhâd alone. Therefore the king vested Azrakhâd was anxious to press on to Norjadar, but ere he set the admiral of Mardruak with supreme authority in Tulwang, to sail for Cape Nisur, San-Ishtu, one of his captains from Mar- conduct the war as seemed best to him. druak, counseled a cunning stratagem. Many of the An- By the time Ûrêzagar’s messengers returned to Azrakhâd at balukkhôrian ships they had defeated at Khurzan had been spared Khorsâj on the 3rd of Vetrashu, Dulgu’s campaign was in full- the torch (to provide new ships for the Tulwanî). San-Ishtu pro- swing. United for the first time since the Second Sorijan War, the posed to man these vessels with their own marines, and so strike cities of northern Tulwang put up a determined resistance, forcing the Anbalukkhôrians at unawares. Consenting to this audacious the Storm King’s legions to pay dearly for every step of their ad- plan, Azrakhâd arranged the manning of the enemy ships and sent vance. But as had been shown at Khorsâj and Dalgen, the Army them in the van, past Nisur into the Bay of Norjadar, while he fol- of the Southern Dragon was all but invincible on the open battle- lowed with the remainder of his fleet (as though pursuing them). field if encountered at its full strength. Once again the Anbalukkhôrians were deceived. Pharazbâr The Tulwanî were not a martial race, and as the difficulty of the himself was now personally overseeing the conveyance of supplies terrain shielded their country from most landward threats, their to Norjadar, and when he beheld his own ships in flight before the strength in warfare was invested most in their Sorijan fleets. Their Tumakveh fleet, he formed a battle line to receive the fugitives ability to counter the march of a massive, organized, well- and confront the enemy. But when the Anbalukkhôrian galleys provisioned invader was therefore limited. They could use the for- from Khurzan suddenly turned upon their countrymen, Pharaz- bidding landscape of the plateau to their advantage, but so long as bâr’s line was thrown into confusion, enabling Azrakhâd to close Akhôrahil’s allies held Norjadar and the Ajdak, no obstacle would in for the kill. be permanent. Totally unprepared to find the enemy within their own ranks, The Warlord of the West Wind had, in fact, already penetrated the Anbalukkhôrians were worsted. Azrakhâd himself slew and captured three of the five Tulwanian ports ringing the Kalz Pharazbâr, thus avenging the death of Urshuzîr. This crushed the Khurzan, opening to him new provisioning depots. But he did not will of the Black Númenórean fleet, which scattered and dis- abandon Norjadar for any turn of battle, knowing that the Cross- persed, some east to their prince at Norjadar, others south to the ings of Dalgen were the only true point of retreat for his land- safety of their homeland.

51 Other Hands News of Pharazbâr’s death and the seizure of their supply route for the erection of a fortress to guard the Crossings of Dalgen caused Barzek Zern great consternation. He at once departed against future threats. Construction of this stronghold, Abâr- Dalgen with a strong force of cavalry and rode to Norjadar, zadan, commenced late in the year and was completed before the where he found the port blockaded by Azrakhâd’s fleet. The dis- following spring. It was built upon the foundations of Barzek astrous turn of events had put Sakulbâr on the defensive, but the Zern’s camp, and was likewise supported by a line of smaller forts Anbalukkhôrian prince (and now heir apparent) as yet held the along the Ajdak joining it to Norjadar. The entire system of fortifi- upper hand, since the attackers had no means of landing troops cations was to be manned by the Bellakarian navy in concert with for a ground assault. Tulwanî and Sorija from Khurzan. The tarabett was far from pleased with Sakulbâr’s performance. Ûrêzagar’s willingness to commit a permanent force in southern Unless the Anbalukkhôrians could be coaxed into facing the Tu- Tulwang a hundred leagues away from Bellakarian soil signaled a makveh fleet at sea, the Tulwang campaign was at an end. The dramatic expansion of the Tumakveh dynasty’s hegemonic posi- prince, however, was fast losing inspiration for this war in which tion in western Haradwaith. With Norjadar firmly in its hands, the ships of Anbalukkhôr were being used as fodder-bearers and Bellakar achieved a mastery over the sea-lanes from Mardruak to now as fodder themselves so that an uncertain ally might settle the borders of Anbalukkhôr. The Ârûwanâi still ruled the Utter upon their borders. The death of his father gave new weight to South, but from Tulwang northwards, more than a thousand miles these misgivings. While he fought on vainly to defend Norjadar, a of coastland lay under the protection of Gondor’s favored ally. rival pretender might seize power in Zadan an-Adûn. For the moment, the foes of Tulwang were preoccupied with Barzek was not unaware of the danger of defection by his An- the threat each now posed to the other. Sakulbâr was busy secur- balukkhôrian allies (his real reason for coming to Norjadar), and ing his accession and frantically reorganizing his military forces to after uttering threats to the prince, placed Sakulbâr under close defend his realm against the possibility of attacks from sea and surveillance. The Anbalukkhôrians had had enough. Taking mat- from the Yellow Mountains. He had broken faith with the Storm ters into their own hands, they set fire to their own ships that lay King, and was expecting the worse. then in haven at Norjadar and used the distraction to butcher Sa- In this case, however, Sakulbâr’s fears were needless. If it kulbâr’s new "bodyguard" and escape the city by horse. The en- would not be his ally, Akhôrahil at least needed Anbalukkhôr’s raged tarabett ordered a company of Farat to pursue them, but neutrality. An invasion of Anbalukkhôr at this stage might even Barzek knew in his heart that there would be no chance of win- provoke Sakulbâr to join forces with Tulwang (just as the Sorija ning back the Anbalukkhôrians in time to save Norjadar, even if a had done with their one-time enemies from Bellakar). At any more pliable monarch could eventually be found. The war was event, Sakulbâr would not rule Anbalukkhôr forever. In good lost. time a lord of that realm might arise who would look upon the Dispatching his swiftest errand-riders to bring word to Dulgu, Southern Dragon as a desired ally (or a necessary evil). Akhôrahil Barzek continued to hold out at Norjadar. When the Warlord of could wait. the West Wind heard of the reversal at Norjadar, he executed all In the meantime, the West Wind had to be settled into its winter but two of the errand-riders on the spot. With the survivors he quarters in Zajantak. Dulgu appointed a lieutenant, Garlin of sent back a grim messenger—one of Akhôrahil’s Slayers—to Clan Bulgan, to act as tarabett in his absence while he undertook “convey his displeasure” to the tarabett. It was a death warrant. the onerous task of returning to Ny Chennacatt to give an account Caja the Snake did not tolerate failure. of his deeds under the baleful regard of his dread lord. Dulgu got Dulgu ordered the withdrawal of the West Wind from Khorsâj better than he expected from the Storm King, departing Akhôra- and Norjadar in order to shield the retreat of the main host. A hil’s throneroom with both his life and his rank intact. beaten Army of the Southern Dragon crossed the River Ajdak at Even the Ringwraith had to concede the inevitability of defeat Dalgen on 6 Ishat, abandoning Tulwang for the mountain vales of once Anbalukkhôr’s fleet had failed them, and Dulgu was still too Zajantak, where Dulgu would spend the remainder of the year in valuable a tool to cast aside, despite his years. The First Tulwang bitterness for the thwarting of his life’s dream. With Norjadar lost Campaign had served as a test of the strengths of his foes in the and Anbalukkhôr’s cooperation dubious, the conquest of Tulwang west; now he must probe their weaknesses. Leaving his erstwhile could take years—even centuries—and Dulgu was not immortal. Ârûwanâ allies to lick their wounds, the Storm King decided to The “Glorious War” that Akhôrahil had spent the past two centu- wait. ries preparing had now become a glorious thorn in the Ring- For the Army of the Southern Dragon, “waiting” still entailed wraith’s side. fighting—seasonal forays into the lands of their enemies, punctu- ated by an occasional larger-scale invasion where conditions were THE LONG WAR favorable. But if Akhôrahil were to maintain the West and North (TA 1399-1436) Winds in the same region, he had to multiply their frontiers of war. While Anbalukkhôr remained closed, Tulwang did not offer The retreat of the Thôn an-Khârlôkh late in the spring of 1399 enough resources and booty to sustain two raiding armies. was cause for celebration. The united strength of Tulwang, Raj The only frontier left was Bozisha-Miraz. The lands of Raj and Bellakar had turned back the greatest threat to the Free Peo- would be the field of winter actions for the North Wind while the ples of the Southlands, and without any request for assistance West continued its assault against Tulwang. Dulgu would remain from Gondor. Heralds were sent far and wide to proclaim their in Chennacatt to oversee other designs of the Storm King unless a victory, and many embassies returned bearing congratulations major campaign in Tulwang or Bozisha-Miraz were planned. For and accolades. Castamir son of Calimir, now Captain of Ships in less important operations, Garlin would act as supreme com- Pelargir, was particularly moved by the news, seeing in this tri- mander of the West Wind. umph the flowering of his father’s wisdom, whose seeds Calimir To his credit and enduring fame, Dulgu the Black, greatest gen- had sown with the Peace of Tulwang. eral of the Storm King since Vaiwatan, led the West Wind into But not all was rejoicing and merry-making. The allied powers battle twice more before his death: once in 1403 and again in of Azra’m-Miraz had weathered only the first onset of the South- 1408. Both campaigns won him noteworthy victories, but neither ern Dragon. Azrakhâd left a sizable Tumakveh garrison at Nor- achieved their ultimate goal. The first resulted in the brief capture jadar under the command of a trusted lieutenant, and gave orders of Abâr-zadan on the Ajdak, followed by eleventh hour appeals to 52 Realm of Bellakar Sakulbâr to retake Norjadar and erase the ignominy of his previ- succeeded in winning over the Anbalukkhôrians, the West Wind ous desertion. But the lord of Anbalukkhôr was unmoved, still re- would be assured of strong naval support for their attack. Unfor- covering the military strength his realm had known under Pharaz- tunately for Aganzagar, the reports he had received of this fac- bâr his father. Dulgu responded by abandoning the Crossings of tion’s strength were greater than it was in reality. The coup failed, Dalgen and going on a rampaging slash and burn campaign along and so did the campaign. the northern borders of Sakulbâr’s realm. Aganzagar felt that Anbalukkhôr was unstable enough for him By 1408, even Dulgu’s enemies were awed at the vigor and de- to intervene directly, but the lord of Ny Chennacatt forbade him termination of this aging warrior—the strength of Dulgu’s to take action, as he was needed in the east. Trabain’s rule over Númenórean blood kept him hale and battle-ready even at 81. In Sîrayn lasted only three short years until another uprising led by that year he led the Host of the West Wind against Khorsâj and fi- Clan Másra overthrew him and seized the government in 1436. nally took the city. Though the road to northern Tulwang re- For the next two centuries and more, the Shadow in the South mained barred to him, the Batân an-Sakal was not. would be too preoccupied with this highly unfavorable turn of Having been lent a cadre of shipwrights and sailors by the King events in Sîrayn, allowing a respite for the Free Peoples of the of Tantûrak in exchange for the South Wind’s cooperation in west. helping him put down a Sharaekian revolt in Dûshera, Dulgu in- But Akhôrahil did not forget his designs against Tulwang. On tended to build a fleet at Khorsâj capable of supplying his army on the contrary; the west remained a constant mote in the dark rean invasion of Raj, following the southern coast of the Azra’m- cesses of his thought. Yet in all his meditation on the matter one Miraz, while the tarabett of the West Wind campaigned against obstacle loomed above all others: Bellakar. Under the Captain of southern Tulwang in order to guard his back and hopefully draw Ships, the Tumakveh fleet had become the greatest naval power in off some of the Tumakveh and Sorijan fleets to Norjadar. the South, and so long as it remained strong and united, he could But the warlord’s schemes were doomed to failure. Even with not hope to take Tulwang. half of their ships speeding south to strengthen Norjadar against How could the Storm King weaken this realm? Surveying its the West Wind, the united fleets of Azra’m-Miraz were too pow- past, it seemed to him that every disaster that befell the Tumakveh erful to resist or avoid. Dulgu’s supply ships were sunk or cap- had only made them stronger in the sequel. But the realm of the tured long before his invasionary force reached the frontiers of Tumakveh lay on the other side of the Azra’m-Miraz, guarded by Bozisha-Miraz. Trapped on the desert coast of an undrinkable powerful allies and leagues of desert uncounted. He could not sea, Dulgu’s men had no choice but to press onward in hopes of overcome Bellakar by force of arms, but by intrigue and deception reaching the Brij-Mijesec before they died of hunger and thirst. he might poison their kingdom. For the ever-patient Ringwraith, Before that hour came they were confronted with Narodbrijig the future would provide him with the tools he needed to do this. horsemen who had not forgotten the slaughter of their Gusar brethren before the walls of Khorsâj. A fierce battle ensued in which Dulgu and his bodyguard were separated from the Mûmakat line and cut down with scimitars. The rest of the invaders, weakened by their death march, were swiftly dispatched. The bodies of Dulgu’s soldiers were burnt, but the warlord himself was laid to rest in the parched earth, and his grave was marked by a stone inscribed with the words: Here lies Caja the Snake. He will strike no more. No major invasion of the west was attempted by the Storm King for the next sixteen years. Garlin of Clan Bulgan was named War- lord of the Thôn an-Khârlôkh in place of Dulgu. But he did not command the West Wind. That was left to another Bulgan named Trabain. Akhôrahil had other plans for Garlin. In 1408, Bazaud Izain, Tarb of Sîrayn, was old. A successor was needed, and to further cement the loyalty of the Bulgan clan, the Ringwraith groomed Garlin for this role, and nine years later installed him at Tûl Isra with the help of Tartas Izain. The Storm King’s strategy backfired. While Bulgan adherence to his will remained unquestioned, the imposition of a ruler who had been a direct subordinate to Ny Chennacatt was too much for many in Sîrayn to bear. The enemies of Clan Bulgan attempted a coup in 1422 and succeeded in killing Garlin. Infuriated at this challenge to his authority, Akhôrahil recalled Trabain from Zajan- tak and sent him at the head of the East Wind to put down the rebellion and assume the title of Tarb himself. A last-ditch effort to resolve the troubles on the Storm King’s western frontiers so that he could concentrate his attention on the situation in Sîrayn was launched in the spring of 1424. The West Wind, under the command of a new warlord, Aganzagar of Tantûrak, gathered at the oasis of Fult, facing the road to Nor- jadar. Sakulbâr of Anbalukkhôr had recently perished at the hands of one of Akhôrahil’s Slayers, and a pro-Storm King faction was contending for power at Zadan an-Adûn. If the insurgents

53 Other Hands THE TUMAKVEH DYNASTY

The ruling house of Bellakar arose from a clan of landowning gentry, similar to many in colonial Bellakar. Pri- marily of Dúnadan lineage, they also claimed Bellanara descent, something rare in the Númenórean domains. They were more tightly knit than most of the great families of Bellakar, and were both fortunate and unfortunate in having little connection to the wealthy trading families of the coastal city-states—unfortunate, because they had fewer riches and friends in Númenor than some families; fortunate, because these two traits made them ideal middlemen in political squabbles in the Bâitha’n-Kadîr. Two talented Tumakveh, Bêlzagar Striker and Zagarthôr Seaborne, made the family’s reputation in the wars that ended the Second Age. A third, Zimrêbal Ironhand, used this reputation and his own skills to earn a royal sceptre for the family. He became the first king of Bellakar. A primary strength of the Tumakveh over the generations was their willingness to overturn the tradition of patri- lineal inheritance that was so important to most Númenórean nobility. The elders of the Tumakveh would, at regular intervals, hold a family gathering, the Invocate, to determine ways of improving the status of the clan and judging whether members of any branch were doing dishonor to it. While Bellakarian law did not permit living holders of Tumakveh wealth to be deprived of it by a family declaration, the Invocate could, and did, change business agreements and alter lines of inheritance to keep property from being estranged from family interests and to punish family members who behaved badly or with too much independence. The Invocate also took an unabashed interest in improving the bloodlines of the Tumakveh. Occasionally they would disinherit family members or relations considered inferior in descent or behavior. More often, the Invocate would arrange marriages, gifts of income and adoptions to ensure that the best blood in the family, along with whatever could be gathered in from elsewhere in Bellakar and Endor, would be carried on to new generations. Although the kings of Bellakar would always tout their distinguished and noble lineage in official documents and speeches, the Invocate, often hidden in the background of Bellakarian politics, was always waiting to pass judgment on the rulers of the kingdom and arrange for the succession to change to represent the best interests of the family and the realm. Each descendent line of Bellakarian kings was given customary status within the family by an “Entailment,” a legal writ created by the Invocate. Zimrêbal Ironhand and his direct descendants were the First Entail. Seven others carried the family through three thousand years of the Third Age and into the Fourth.

54 Realm of Bellakar

Name Born Reigned Died Notes

FIRST ENTAIL Zimrêbal 310 340-395 (55) 395 (85) AKA Ironhand Abâruzôr 362 395-443 (48) 443 (81) AKA the Impetuous Bêlphazân 422 443-495 (52) 495 (73) Imruzîr 470 488-535 (47) 535 (65)* Zadunzîr 499 533 (34)†

SECOND ENTAIL Urdubâr 513 535-628 (93) 628 (115) grandson of Imruzîr; AKA Arud Tumakveh I Zâyunzîr 560 625 (65) Êruzôr 605 628-660 (42) 660 (55) Avalôzîr 634 660-698 (38) 698 (64) Zimrukhôr 671 698-741 (43) 741 (70) Zimrubêl 711 741-787 (46) 787 (76) princess; marries Nîlûhîn

THIRD ENTAIL Nîlûhîn 717 741-795 (54) 795 (78) Narkuzîr I 763 795-840 (45) 854 (91) AKA the Courageous Artârik I 783 840-884 (44) 884 (101)† brother of Narkuzîr I; AKA an-Aranî Êruzagar 828 884-889 (5) 889 (61)† great nephew of Artârik, grandson of Narkuzîr by an older daughter; AKA the Warmaker

THE TEDJIN YOKE Joam-Tuv 842 890-905 (15) 905 (63) Joam-Kator 868 905-938 (33) 938 (70) Ogtaï 881 938-952 (14) 952 (71) AKA the Bloodmaker

FOURTH ENTAIL Adûnuzîr 867 905-938 (33) 938 (71) Arphazân 889 938-975 (37) 975 (86) Narkuzîr II 922 975-1010 (35) 1010 (88) AKA Ervak Arzagar 961 1010-1053 (43) 1053 (92) AKA Imruphazgân Minulzîr 965 ? 2nd son of Narkuzîr II

FIFTH ENTAIL Anîzîr 1009 1053-1095 (42) 1095 (86) Karbuzîr 1049 1095-1138 (43) 1138 (89) Balkuzôr 1092 1138-1182 (44) 1182 (90) Bêlphazân II ? 1182-1235 (53) 1235 (?) descendant of Arzagar Sakalkhâd ? 1235-1290 (55) 1290 (?) Kadarzagar 1235 1290-1324 (34) 1324 (89) brother of Bêlphazân II Urduzîr 1302 1324-1378 (54) 1378 (76) Ûrêzagar 1340 1378-1422 (44) 1422 (82) great-grandson of Sakalkhâd Urshuzîr ? 1399 (?)† son of Sakalkhâd Êruhil 1388 1422-1483 (61) 1483 (95) son of Urshuzîr; AKA the Virtuous Bêlkhôr I 1453 1483-1550 (67) 1550 (97) AKA Aruyati

55 Other Hands

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